After a Tuesday morning full of workouts and meetings, a number of Browns headed to the east side, where they danced, read and laughed with children at Glenville's Early Learning Center.
Nate Orchard, T.J. Carrie, Mike Jordan and Austin Calitro joined the center's preschoolers, who ranged from ages 3-5, to participate in a number of activities that made for a special afternoon. The players read "Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes," played all sorts of games with a parachute and capped it off with a dance party.
"We were so thrilled to be able to welcome Cleveland Browns Give Back to Glenville Early Learning Center," said Elizabeth Newman, President and CEO at Circle Health Services and The Centers for Families and Children. "Today was a great opportunity for our children to experience the Browns up close and personal for them to see what a high quality preschool environment looks like, have some fun and also do some learning."
The Browns are no strangers to this particular center, as a number of players spent an afternoon with the children last October.
"The kids are just so thrilled to have the Browns players here today," said John Ladd, program officer with Invest in Children, an organization that mobilizes resources and energy to ensure the well-being of all young children in Cuyahoga County, provide supportive services to parents and caregivers, and build awareness, momentum, and advocacy in the community around children and family issues.
"This is an experience they don't normally get. Having it come together through this partnership is just fantastic for them. They're loving it."
As part of First and Ten Tuesday, the Browns visited with students at the Glenville Early Learning Center to support the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program supported by the Browns Foundation and the 2000 Days pledge.
A core focus of Browns Give Back is education, and the Cleveland Browns Foundation supports this mission through financial grants and other resources to local, education non-profits to ensure youth in Northeast Ohio receive the education and development they need as a foundation for independence and success. The Cleveland Browns Foundation has identified three areas of impact – school attendance, early learning and college and career readiness – with the goal of identifying opportunities, removing barriers and providing support for students to empower them for long-term success.
Through a partnership with The Centers for Families and Children and University Hospitals, the Cleveland Browns Foundation is supporting the 2,000 Days Pledge, which encourages parents to become advocates for their child's learning from birth to provide the best possible start to their education and development. The Centers for Families and Children (The Centers) employs an integrated strategy to improve the lives of those we serve through integrated behavioral health, primary care, early learning, and workforce services.
Invest in Children has been recognized as a leader in early childhood system building within the state and the nation. The programs of Invest in Children include the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program, as well as early childhood literacy and mental health efforts, programs to support pregnancy and infant health, and advocacy work to ensure the needs of young children and families are carefully considered in public policy and practice. All programs are evaluated independently by a team at Case Western Reserve University.
The Browns Give Back to Northeast Ohio with a commitment to education and youth football while engaging the community through the team's signature First and Ten volunteer movement. For more information, visitwww.clevelandbrowns.com/brownsgiveback.
