CLEVELAND — Speaking to a group of students at John Marshall High School, Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown remembers when he was once in their shoes as he helped headline a field dedication ceremony Thursday afternoon.

"It's really important that we're always involved in our community, giving back and really supporting the youth and, in particular, education across Northeast Ohio," Brown said.

John Marshall is one of five Cleveland Metropolitan School District sites that will have synthetic turf installed through a two-year project made possible by Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns Foundation.

The project, which was announced two springs ago, aims to support education, athletics and youth football and unify local communities that will use the stadiums for all sorts of purposes.

Brown was joined by CMSD CEO Eric Gordon, Cleveland mayor Frank G. Jackson, Ohio House of Representatives Martin Sweeney, District 14, City of Cleveland Councilman Brian Kazy, Ward 16, former Browns linebacker Frank Stams and members of the community to celebrate the state-of-the-art field.

The Browns renovated Roye Kidd Stadium, James F. Rhodes Stadium and Bump Taylor Stadium last year and will celebrate the completion of John Adams Stadium in the near future.

"You can feel that excitement in the kids here and the community, obviously not just for football here at John Marshall but also for some of the other sports and the Muni League that play out here, so it's great," Brown said.

"You take for granted some of these things that perhaps other schools and other districts have that aren't privileges in many of our schools here in Northeast Ohio. And under Dee and Jimmy's leadership, this has been a real opportunity for us to target schools like this and make a big impact."

The Cleveland Browns are committed to assisting the development, safety and growth of youth and high school football throughout Northeast Ohio with year-round programming for players, coaches, officials and parents. Through camps, clinics and other initiatives, the Browns' goal is to promote healthy, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of youth by enhancing opportunities for youth football participation and education.

Through Browns Give Back, the Cleveland Browns are dedicated to #give10 through the team's First and Ten initiative. Launched in June 2014, the Cleveland Browns First and Ten campaign is the team's community program, established to inspire fans to volunteer in and help their communities throughout the world by volunteering for 10 hours each year.

Through First and Ten, the Browns are the only NFL club to promote a long-term volunteering program that unifies the team and its entire fan base, with the goal of impacting every individual's city across the globe, as well as the franchise's local community. All Browns fans are encouraged to join the volunteering effort by signing the First and Ten pledge on the team's website and by sharing their stories with #give10.