As part of the Browns' continued effort to lift spirits throughout the holiday season, the team will begin a "10 Days of Giving" initiative on Saturday through the Browns First and Ten volunteering campaign to make an impact in Northeast Ohio, bring awareness to local community partners and to share stories of generosity to inspire Browns fans to give back to others during the holidays.
From December 10-19, the Browns will announce and highlight special community opportunities that rally the entire organization and Cleveland together to make a difference through the collaboration of executives, coaches, players, staff and Browns fans.
Day 10 - 12/19
Andrew Hawkins, who was joined by his teammates, staff members, Cleveland police chief Calvin Williams and CPD officers, hosted his third-annua Christmas Takeover, where he surprised 300 students and teachers from the Cleveland College Preparatory School Tuesday afternoon with a wide-ranging array of gifts and $10,000 toward new technology for the school.
"My mom, we had a lot of kids in the house, my mom put us through private schools, she was working around the clock and Christmases weren't always as best as she wanted them to be," he said. "I can remember one Christmas specifically where an organization came and brought christmas gifts to us and that kind of inspired me that when I was in a position I was going to do the same thing for other kids."
Hawkins hosted last year's event to benefit 150 deserving and underserved youth from all 17 wards through Cleveland Recreation Centers. He also made a special holiday delivery at the Cleveland Christian home, as well as other contributions to charities in the Midwest.
Day 9 - 12/18
On the ninth day of the Browns' 10 Days of Giving initiative, the Browns are celebrating and recognizing the exceptional work of many leading organizations who are focused on improving education and youth development throughout the year and have also partnered with the Cleveland Browns Foundation.
The Cleveland Browns Foundation is dedicated to ensuring students in Northeast Ohio receive the education and development they need as a foundation for independence and success. By enhancing existing partnerships and strategically adding new programs, the Cleveland Browns Foundation is working to identify and eliminate barriers so that all students have access to a high-quality education regardless of zip code, race, economic status or disability.
Special Teams Package with Shoes and Clothes for Kids
Through "Special Teams Package," Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4K) will have the opportunity to serve up to 2,000 Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) students in alignment with the Cleveland Browns Foundation's efforts to support school attendance and provide resources that foster positive learning environments for all students. The program, launched this winter and extending through the 2016-17 school-year, was made possible by a $100,000 Cleveland Browns Foundation grant award to SC4K and will provide quick deliveries of customized packages, containing school uniforms, casual clothes, a shoe gift card and other necessary items to students that CMSD identifies as being most in need of basic clothing. Lack of appropriate clothing is a common barrier to school attendance, and the Special Teams Package program aims to remove that barrier and allow students to focus on school and the learning process.
In November, Browns players visited to Clara E. Westropp School to unveil the new program and deliver the first of many Special Teams Packages that will benefit youth of various ages throughout Northeast Ohio. Read more, here – Browns and SC4K announce 'Special Teams Packages.
Marion Motley Scholarship with College Now Greater Cleveland
During the Browns home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, this year's Marion Motley Scholarship recipients Aiyana Green and Anthony Harris had the opportunity to serve as the Browns' honorary First and Ten coin toss captains after being surprised with the life-changing news that they would receive support from the Cleveland Browns Foundation and College Now Greater Cleveland as they pursue their undergraduate degrees.
The Marion Motley Scholarship is part of the Cleveland Browns Foundation's mission of finding a solution-based, holistic approach to ensure Northeast Ohio youth receive the development and education they need. College Now provides Greater Cleveland students with guidance and access to funds to prepare for and graduate from college. For nearly 50 years, its goal has been to help students pursue educational opportunities that empower them to embark on rewarding careers and strengthen our community.
Through the Marion Motley Scholarship's 11 years of existence, 22 students have received $220,000 in financial aid awards and 92 percent of those recipients have graduated or are on track to graduate in six years compared to the 11 percent national average for low-income students.
Browns fans can watch Pro Bowl LT Joe Thomas meeting with both students earlier this month to see how both learned that they were selected for the award. Video: 2016 Marion Motley Scholarship Recipients
Cleveland Metropolitan School District "Get 2 School. You Can Make It!" attendance campaign
The Cleveland Browns Foundation is the signature partner for Cleveland Metropolitan School District's "Get 2 School. You Can Make It!" attendance campaign, designed to remove the barriers of students being chronically absent from school. Based on recent studies, there is a significant negative impact on CMSD students' test scores and graduations rates when missing even 10 days of school. Thus, the District considers students missing more than 10 days of school to be chronically absent or "off track" and puts them at risk academically.
The attendance campaign, which is now in its second year, has spread awareness through billboards, yard signs, radio commercials and social media, including videos featuring Cleveland Browns players sharing the importance of getting to school. During the program's first year, attendance increased by 1.5 percentage points, raising the attendance level to more than 91 percent. This increase is significant and gave way to more than 2,400 students improving attendance and shaving off more than 10 percent of chronically absent students the year before.
The Browns Foundation's role in the campaign extends beyond enlisting players to taping pro-attendance videos, recording phone calls placed to homes and making appearances at schools. The Foundation sits on the Attendance Campaign committee and helps develop the strategy for increasing school attendance and reducing the number of students who are "off-track" or chronically absent.
Nationwide, more than 6 million students missed at least 15 days of school, according to data that the Department of Education published in September. Ohio defines chronic absenteeism at 18 days, or 10 percent of the school year. To combat absenteeism and set a higher standard for the District, CMSD tried to ensure that students were missing fewer than 10 days of school a year. District data shows that students who miss 10 or more days in a year score an average of 12 points lower on state reading tests and 15 points lower on state math tests. They are 9 percent less likely to meet Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee, which is required to earn promotion to fourth grade, and, in the case of high school students, they are 34 percent less likely to graduate.
More information about how the Browns Foundation aids CMSD's attendance drive is also available on www.ClevelandBrowns.com/community.
Day 8 - 12/17
During Day 8 of the Browns 10 Days of Giving, the team thanks the many Browns players, coaches and executives and their significant others who participated in the Adopt-A-Family program to generously provide 24 families throughout Northeast Ohio a special holiday season. Through Adopt-a-Family, members of the Browns organization had the opportunity to give to local families who will receive gifts and more to enjoy this winter, including some that were personally delivered by coaches or players.
In 2016, the Browns worked with representatives from The Centers for Families and Children, a Cleveland Browns Foundation partner, and Littlest Heroes to identify deserving families throughout the region that would benefit from the Adopt-A-Family program. Through many years of the Adopt-A-Family program, the Browns have collaboratively granted precious holiday memories and experiences to more than 100 families in Northeast Ohio through various local community organizations.
The Centers for Families and Children (The Centers) bridges the opportunity gap by connecting as many people as possible to effective health care, education and essential human services and has nearly 900 children enrolled in early-learning centers and home-based programs across Greater Cleveland. The Centers is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit organizations in Northeast Ohio, serving more than 23,000 people annually in our community. Visit TheCentersOhio.org to learn more.
The Littlest Heroes works to directly support local families that have a child diagnosed with cancer and have hit financial and emotional burdens due to the expensive costs of treatment. The Littlest Heroes works to make a positive impact on young people living with cancer. For more information, visit www.thelittlestheroes.org.
Day 7 -12/16
The Browns unveiled the new teen space at Glenville Recreation Center, which was renovated in part thanks to the help of vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry and the team's scouting department.
Day 6 - 12/15
The sixth day of the Browns' 10 Days of Giving Initiative brought the Browns at-Large 13-14 year old boys NFL FLAG Football team to Berea to practice in the fieldhouse. It was here where they learned the Browns will cover a portion of the team's travel expenses to the Pro Bowl, where they'll represent the Browns in Orlando.
The FLAG Football team was arranged after the Clevealnd Muny Football League, which is starting a new NFL FLAG Football division within the league for the 2017 season, held tryouts last week Thursday afternoon marked the team's first practice and the flag footall championship takes place at the Pro Bowl in January.
Day 5 - 12/14
After he was named the Cleveland Browns' 2016 Coach of the Year, the Browns -- with the help of head coach Hue Jackson -- surprised Lorain's Dave McFarland with the news he would represent the team as Cleveland's Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year nominee.
As such, McFarland will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the 2017 Pro Bowl in Orlando, courtesy of the NFL and the Browns, and can earn an additional $15,000 in grants for Lorain High School's football program and a $10,000 award if named the NFL's national recipient.
McFarland led Lorain to its best season in program history. The Titans finished the regular season with eight straight wins to clinch their first outright league championship and scored their first-ever playoff victory in their first-ever home playoff game, a 34-14 rout of Lewis Center Olentangy. It was a magical year that ended all the way in the Division I Regional Finals, where the Titans fell, 24-20, to top-seeded Olentangy Liberty.
Day 4 - 12/13
Gary Barnidge and Christian Kirksey spent their Tuesday at Toys R Us in Parma, hosting holiday shopping events to support kids across the Cleveland area. Barnidge and teammates wandered the aisles with 20 children from OhioGuidestone while Kirksey's guests were from Laura's Home and the local YMCA. We'll have more on ClevelandBrowns.com Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the Browns and Fuel Up to Play 60 recognized Columbia Middle School Tuesday morning for championing the Fuel Up to PLAY 60 youth health and wellness initiative by presenting the school a $10,000 grant from the Browns and American Dairy Association Mideast. Browns players Ed Reynolds, Cody Parkey, Seth DeValve and Ibraheim Campbell headlined the event and visited students' classrooms to share healthy eating tips.
Day 3 - 12/12
In a surprise announcement, the Browns awarded Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Cleveland Muny Football League each with $25,000 for new helmets on Monday afternoon.
"Especially during this time of year, people and organizations are looking to make contributions and impact the community, and there is nothing more important to the Browns than football, youth football in particular, and also the community of Cleveland," said executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown, who presented the checks in the team's facility.
"Dee and Jimmy Haslam have made those areas a key focus for our team, and this is just one example of our organization's commitment to developing the game for our youth and our local communities throughout the year."
HELMETS aims at advancing player safety in high school football by awarding a Northeast Ohio area high school football program with $25,000 in new football helmets.
And as a prerequisite, programs must commit to enhancing player health and safety by enrolling in USA Football's medically endorsed Heads Up Football® program, which offers certification clinics to educate coaches about concussion recognition and response protocols, proper equipment fitting, Heads Up Tackling, Heads Up Blocking, heat emergency preparedness and hydration, and sudden cardiac arrest.
Day 2 - 12/11
The Browns and local Marines played host to the annual First and Ten Toy Drive Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. The drive, which is part of the team's First and Ten volunteering campaign, was aimed at supporting Toys for Tots, which gives new, unwrapped toys to kids in need from Cuyahoga County.
Earlier in the week, Browns, offensive lineman Shon Coleman, tight end Randall Telferand local Marines started things off by visiting patients at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital where they delivered gifts and toys for the holiday season.
The First and Ten Toy Drive is also part of Day 2 of the Browns First and Ten "10 Days of Giving" initiative.
Day 1 - 12/10
Andrew Berry and the Browns' player personnel department spent Saturday morning leading by example.
The team's vice president of player personnel and others helped renovate the Glenville Recreation Center, whether it was painting, assembling furniture and more.
"It is always important, especially during the holiday season, to give back and dedicate time to our community, as well as reflect on how fortunate we all are to have that opportunity," Berry said.
"Today, we renovated the Glenville Rec center as we wanted to help make it a better environment for the community and our youth to use."
Saturday's event is part of the Browns' "10 Days of Giving" initiative through the Browns First and Ten volunteering campaign to make an impact in Northeast Ohio, bring awareness to local community partners and to share stories of generosity to inspire Browns fans to give back to others during the holidays.
From December 10-19, the Browns will announce and highlight special community opportunities that rally the entire organization and Cleveland together to make a difference through the collaboration of executives, coaches, players, staff and Browns fans.
At 10 a.m. each morning throughout goodwill effort, the Browns will post a new community initiative for that day to share how the team will be active in Northeast Ohio and to encourage others to engage within their own communities throughout the holidays.
About First and Ten:Launched in June 2014, the Cleveland Browns First and Ten campaign is the team's community program, established to inspire fans to #give10 and help their communities 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. For more information, visit ClevelandBrowns.com/community.
About the Cleveland Browns Foundation:
The Cleveland Browns Foundation is dedicated to a solution-based, holistic approach to ensure Northeast Ohio youth receive the education and development they need as a foundation for independence and success. For more information, visit ClevelandBrowns.com/foundation.
