Browns HELMETS program issues more than 350 Xenith helmets to Northeast Ohio youth and high school football programs (7.31.20)
For Immediate Release
July 31, 2020
BEREA, Ohio –Through the HELMETS program, presented by Meijer and in association with University Hospitals and Xenith, the Browns announced the most recent recipients of more than 350 new Xenith football helmets – Nordonia High School (100 helmets), Fairport Harding Middle School (100), Mansfield High School (86) and Hudson Middle School (86).
During a special event this morning, highlighted by a message from DT Larry Ogunjobi, the Knights football team was surprised with the new equipment. Browns Director of Youth Football Darrell Taylor, Meijer’s Seven Hills Store Director Ariko Jackson, Xenith Sales and Marketing Representative Charles Calabrese and University Hospitals Dr. Benjamin Boswell, who also serves as Nordonia Athletics’ team doctor, participated in today’s celebration. Video and photos from the presentation are available to media, courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.
“The Browns are incredibly proud to support youth and high school football participation across Ohio, including through HELMETS, which supplies new equipment to deserving programs who participate in USA Football’s certification training,” said Browns Vice President of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic. “We thank all of the coaches, players and our partners – Meijer, University Hospitals and Xenith – for their continued commitment to promoting the health and safety of youth athletes, as well as for inspiring a love of football.”
Since 2017, HELMETS has issued nearly 2,200 helmets to eligible youth and high school football programs. During the past six years, the Browns have provided multiple local teams with more than $500,000 in donations for this new equipment through HELMETS and direct contributions from the team, as part of its dedication to assisting the development, safety and growth of the game in the state.
HELMETS aims to advance player safety by awarding Ohio football programs with $25,000 in new five-star Xenith helmets, as recognized by Virginia Tech’s helmet ratings. To help further promote health and safety, each program must enroll in USA Football’s medically endorsed Youth Football Certification course to be eligible. The certification clinics educate coaches about concussion recognition and response protocols, proper equipment fitting, shoulder tackling, heads up blocking, heat emergency preparedness and hydration and sudden cardiac arrest.
Teams or leagues receiving donations through HELMETS are selected randomly. For more information or to register a local program, visit https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/community/youth-football/high-school-programs.
As part of their health and safety efforts, University Hospitals has also worked with the Browns to cover costs for more than 1,500 high school football coaches to become USA Football certified each year since 2016.
About the Cleveland Browns and Browns Give Back:
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. For more information, visit www.clevelandbrowns.com/brownsgiveback.
Education – The Cleveland Browns are dedicated to improving the quality of education for students in Ohio by making investments that keep kids in school every day so they can succeed, highlighted by the “Get 2 School, Stay in the Game!” Network. The “Get 2 School” Network is a statewide initiative designed to promote the importance of school attendance and put an end to chronic absenteeism. The team engages local schools and promotes quality education by using attendance data and feedback from families to build a school-going culture, uncover and reduce common barriers to attendance and support engagement opportunities for students to thrive. To learn more, visit Get2School.org.
Youth Football – 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.
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. To date, more than 2 million hours of volunteering have been pledged through First and Ten. 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.
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