As kids from Cleveland's Central neighborhood walked into the computer lab at Lonnie Burten Recreation Center, their faces lit up with surprise.
At first, they saw the new computer stations lined up against the wall. But as they looked around, they noticed the two new TVs with a PlayStation, they could not contain their excitement and ran over to check out the system and games.
On Dec. 17, DT Maurice Hurst II and members of the Browns defensive line – including Elerson Smith and Cameron Thomas – unveiled a recently renovated computer lab at the City of Cleveland's Lonnie Burten Recreation Center. Hurst and his teammates funded the renovation, which included re-painting the space in fresh coat of white paint and providing Cleveland residents nine new computers and monitors, two printers, two TVS, a Soundbar speaker and Browns items – including folders, lanyards, posters and knit hats – to transform the space.
"Just (wanted) to make them feel seen and make them feel important. I think that's the biggest thing is just to provide them a safe space and make them know that we care about them as the Browns and we just want them to succeed and just give them the best opportunity," Hurst said, "Anytime you can give back to the community and just provide a space for kids to go learn and grow and just come together, I think it's really a phenomenal thing. And just to see the reaction and provide them with the space, it was really great."
The Lonnie Burten Recreation Center is one of the 22 Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers that are throughout the city of Cleveland. The Lonnie Burten Recreation Center was first opened in 1932 and has served as a gathering place for the local community in the Central neighborhood. The facility houses a weight room, sauna, game room, basketball court, indoor swimming pool and meeting room.
Parks and recreation play an important role in the lives of people in the community. For kids, recreation centers provide a space outside of school or while on break. They not only provide space for activities, but also help to improve people's mental and physical health, which can have positive economic and social outcomes in the neighborhoods.
Commissioner for the City of Cleveland Division of Recreation Sam Gissentaner, who has worked with the Division of Recreation since 1982, has seen how their partnership and work with the Browns has stemmed throughout the years on different projects throughout Cleveland.
The Browns have visited several recreation centers around the Cleveland area to renovate spaces. In 2019, they worked with Lonnie Burten, Fairfax and Michael Zone to help refurbish specific spaces, painting common area walls with Browns branding as well as setting up new sport/gaming equipment. They included volunteers from law enforcement in their continued efforts to connect officers and neighbors in meaningful ways. Those spaces turned into a common area at Fairfax Recreation Center, a game room at Lonnie Burten Recreation Center and both a weight room and common area at Michael Zone Recreation Center.
"They understand the challenges that our kids face," Gissentaner said. "And instead of taking their opportunities elsewhere, they come to the city, and we truly appreciate that."
Hurst's former teammate, DE Za'Darius Smith, acted as a catalyst for the renovation. Hurst said Smith held an event in the fall of 2024 where he provided clothes and food to those in the community – and also opened their new outdoor playground at the recreation center.
Following the event, a number of the Browns defensive line who volunteered – including Hurst and DT Mike Hall Jr. – took a tour of the building. While on the tour, Hurst said they saw the space set aside for a computer lab but noticed the lack of resources in the room.
Through that introduction to the recreation center, conversations with people at Lonnie Burten and other community advocates, Hurst said they saw the community's need for a computer lab, and it spearheaded the project.
"The fact that his line mates picked up that baton and finished the race, it's all about teamwork," Lonnie Burten Recreation Center Manager Michael Powers said. "It just shows what great partners Cleveland Browns have become with the city of Cleveland and especially the Division of Recreation."
When they took the tour, Hurst recognized the need to update the computer lab, especially knowing how the digital divide can impact students in their efforts to learn, as well as adults. The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to technology, the internet and digital literacy training and those who do not.
"I feel like having the computers, they're able to do different sort of learning programs, able to work on school projects or things like that outside of the school building," Hurst said. "But also, just for the community as well – alongside the kids, parents and things like that, being able to come up here maybe do some learning, maybe apply for new jobs or things like that. There's a bunch of different needs there that technology can help solve."
The Browns' work through their social justice programming touches on bridging the gap in the digital divide. The Cleveland Browns Foundation has also contributed monetarily through grants to help close the digital divide in Northeast Ohio. During COVID, there was a heightened focus on the digital divide as students without Internet access couldn't engage in school and learn in the same manner as their peers. While the digital divide continues to exist, the efforts of helping with connection and equipment at community partner locations has continued in providing districts and a local nonprofit who assists with supplying equipment to families (Digital-C).
According to the U.S. Census’ 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates in 2023, Cleveland was still one of the worst-connected large cities in the country. About 14.7 percent of households had no broadband of any type – including cellular data plans. About 32 percent of households in Cleveland had no broadband, such as cable, fiber optic or DSL.
They have seen improvements, as Cleveland was one of two cities to have the biggest percentage reductions in households without wireline broadband connections since 2019. From 2019-2023, Cleveland added 25,000 wireline broadband accounts to reach their 32.2 percent mark.
According to the last U.S. Census, 90.5 percent of households in Cleveland had access to a computer. From 2019-2023, 80.5 percent of households in Cleveland had a broadband Internet subscription.
Those in the community recognize the progress made but know there is still a need in the Cleveland community.
"We know that technology is a big thing for everyone," Gissentaner said. "And now that the neighborhood knows that they can come to Lonnie Burten and be able to gain access to the internet, be able to print out documents, that's valuable. So, when you're talking about inner city, you're talking about inside of rec center that sits inside of a lot of public housing, a lot of the residents now know that the Cleveland Browns, through their donation, they can come up to Lonnie Burten and participate in those type of things."
