Cleveland Browns and CMSD combine for a day of Special Olympics fun
There are two things that are evident about the Cleveland Browns. The first is that when the season ends the work does not. The second is once a Brown always a Brown. These two statements were especially true this past Wednesday when the Cleveland Browns hosted the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Special Olympics during the Cleveland Browns PLAY 60 football festival.
Current Cleveland Browns players DB Justin Currie and LS Charley Hughlett stopped by to lend their presence as well a number of Cleveland Browns alumni that included T Doug Dieken, CB Hanford Dixon, CB Reggie Langhorne, RB Kevin Mack, QB Dave Mays, RB Cleo Miller, RB Greg Pruitt, Head Coach Sam Rutigliano and S Felix Wright as well as Cleveland Browns Mascot Chomps.
In total, over 900 Special Olympics athletes and coaches as well as football players from various CMSD High Schools gathered together for a day of fun and exercise. The event was held at the Casey Coleman Field House that is located at the Cleveland Browns Training and Administrative Complex located in Berea, Ohio.
Throughout the large indoor practice field various activity stations were set up that included various football drills, a “40 yard dash”, inflatables, dancing, an exercise prize wheel and more. The training center’s cafeteria was also opened for a tailgate lunch courtesy of the Cleveland Touchdown Club Charities. Also on hand were representatives of University Hospitals who ran some booths of their own. Each participants from the more than 25 CMSD schools also received a complimentary drawstring bag supplied by University Hospitals. In order to keep everyone properly hydrated, Gatorade was also supplied at various stations around the field.
The event is part of the Cleveland Browns #give10 program that is part of their First and Ten Initiative. Launched in June of 2014, the program encourages community involvement of Cleveland Brown fans in the form of volunteering for 10 hours each year. Participants can sign up on the Cleveland Browns website at ClevelandBrowns.com/brownsgiveback and having completed their ten hours return to share their experience on the same site.
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. Another focus of the Cleveland Browns Give Back program is education with the Cleveland Browns Foundation supporting a number of local causes through local financial grants as well as other resources to local, education non-profits. This effort helps insure that the youth of Northeast Ohio receive a proper education and development needed as a foundation for independence and success. The focus of these programs is threefold including school attendance, early learning and college/career preparedness. By removing the barriers and providing opportunities the programs provide support or students in their effort to achieve long term success.
The Cleveland Browns PLAY 60 movement is part of the NFL’s nationwide initiative that promotes youth health and wellness by encouraging at least 60 minutes of physical activity each and every day. In association with University Hospitals the Cleveland Browns bring PLAY 60 programs to the local community throughout the year.
This particular gathering was in conjunction with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Special Olympics whose mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of sports designed for students with intellectual disabilities. The Cleveland Metropolitan Schools Special Olympics programs provide continual opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of skills and friendship with families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.