Cleveland Browns pay an early Christmas visit to George Washington Carver School

For eighteen second grade students at George Washington Carver School Christmas came three weeks early. The students got a visit from the Cleveland Browns players that included LB Christian Kirksey and OL Marcus Martin and the Cleveland Browns official mascot Chomps. The trio stopped by on their day off from practice to deliver “Special Teams Packages” and to give emphasis on the importance of education in order to succeed in life.

Each child in the class received a bag containing school uniforms, daily clothing items and school supplies. During the visit, the players and Chomps led the students in a game of “Sight Word Boot Camp” that consisted of the players holding up a card with a word on it. The students would then shout out the word and then spell the word while doing an exercise such as jumping jacks or touching their toes. The players also got to read a story about a boy who brought his alligator to school. It was after this that the players and teachers helped distribute the “Special Teams Packages” to the students which is part of the Shoes and Coats For Kids program.

It is hoped that SC4K will be able to serve over 3,000 students with clothes and supplies by the end of the school year. The program is designed to help provide resources and eliminate barriers while fostering positive learning environments for all students. Research has shown that lack of appropriate clothing, shoes and school supplies leads as a major obstacle to attending school on a regular basis for many students.

Over the course of the school year, Cleveland Metropolitan School District tracks attendance for students who receive a “Special Teams Package” as part of the “Get 2 School, you Can Make It” campaign in order to see the impact that new clothing has on school attendance. Through this research program CMSD has learned that students who are chronically absent are linked to lower academic performance and graduation rates. The plan is to improve overall attendance through this campaign that is supported by the Cleveland Browns and SC4K.

The Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Browns Foundation have dedicated themselves to focus on education through a series of grants and other resources for local education. The three areas that have been found to impact a child’s education are school attendance, early learning as well as college and career readiness.

The visit was part of the Cleveland Browns #give10 program that is part of the First and Ten initiative. The program dates back to June of 2014 and is designed to inspire fans worldwide to sign up on the Cleveland Browns website (click on Community) and to commit to ten hours of community volunteer work during the coming 12 months. Having completed the ten hours they are invited back to share their experiences online.

The Cleveland Browns and Shoes and Clothes for Kids have been partnering for a long time. This past summer Shoes and Clothes fror Kids joined forces with Uniform for Kids allowing them to include new school uniforms for the children as well.

For many years the Cleveland Browns have been a signature partner with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Get to School, you Can Make It! Program. The program has met its goal for the past two years by reducing the level of absenteeism through a 14% overall growth in attendance.