Browns busy practicing and giving back

05.21.2009

With community outreach at the core of the Browns' off the field efforts, Thursday was a good day in the community and at minicamp. The sun was shining, the Browns were practicing, and a group of lucky students was in Berea to take it all in.

At the same time across town, Vision First was clearly making a difference.

Relaxing in the sun, and looking towards the summer break, a group of fourth-grade students had access to what is traditionally a closed practice as a reward for doing well in the classroom. Their hard work and determination in school paid off.

The students received the camp invitation to illustrate you do not need to be the ace of the class to be recognized for working hard. The 30 students from Big Creek Elementary were identified by the Berea City School District for this reward because they always try hard and give their best efforts while demonstrating good behavior in school, consistently having good work habits and working well with others.

As an added reward, head coach Eric Mangini and the entire Browns team visited the kids and signed autographs for each student.

While practice was taking place, another element of the Browns community outreach was working hard as the Vision First vehicle traveled to Luis Munoz Marin Elementary School of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. For two days, the Browns Vision First program was at the school providing free eye exams to young students. Any student examined in need of a pair of prescription eye glasses will receive a pair free courtesy of the Cleveland Browns Foundation.

The Vision First program, a partnership of the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, The Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, will have visited approximately 80 elementary schools throughout the course of the 2008-2009 school year.