On Tuesday, the Browns held their ninth annual Summer Blitz powered by Spectrum at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Over 100 Browns staff members and Spectrum employees participated in different community-oriented project stations, ranging from field bench assembly to blanket making.

Summer Blitz is the largest day of service for the Browns, with a commitment to the three core areas of Browns Give Back: education, youth football and providing equitable opportunities for advancement in Ohio.

Staff members were joined by five Browns alumni — Frank Stams, David Mays, Dave Puzzuoli, Jamel White and Phil Taylor.

"It's really important for us, as an organization, to make sure that we are doing what we can to support our neighbors and the initiatives that we partner with different organizations on," Vice President of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic said. "So [Summer Blitz] is really the culmination of all that."

There were seven different projects during Summer Blitz powered by Spectrum, with each station serving a different area of focus.

The field bench assembly may have been the most labor intensive, with volunteers putting together eight Browns themed benches as a part of their 18^th and 19^th field projects dating back to the program's debut in 2016. The benches were delivered and installed at Richmond Heights High School and Charles F. Brush High School.

Stams, an Ohio native and former Browns linebacker, felt the event was a great opportunity to give back to the community. He was excited to participate in the bench building, emphasizing the importance of the event.

"As you get older, you understand how important it is to give back to the community," Stams said. "And this is just absolutely awesome, giving back to the community. Because the people with the Browns, (who) played for the Browns, worked with the Browns, are so fortunate to have that life. And to share it and give it back and contribute to the community for those who need help, or need some assistance, it's everything."

In conjunction with the Browns Flag In-Schools program, volunteers also assembled flag football tool kits containing necessary equipment and resources. The tool kits support participating schools in the Browns Flag In-Schools program, which is active in 275 elementary schools across Northeast and Central Ohio. The Browns Flag In-Schools program is a turnkey flag football implementation model designed to help physical education teachers build a foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for their students. The program works in tandem with Stay in the Game! by providing school-based activities to further engage students and increase school attendance.

The Cleveland Browns Foundation is focused on education and works to support students in achieving positive academic outcomes by improving school attendance through the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. In support of the Network – which was launched in 2019 by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Harvard's Proving Ground, and is now managed by Battelle – Browns staff volunteers packaged field banners and school incentive packages to help raise awareness for attendance and recognize students.

Dozens of bikes were sprawled out in the event area, assembled by hand by volunteers at one of the stations. A total of 30 bikes were donated to Euclid City Schools, as well as helmets and bike locks, and the bikes will be provided to students as an alternative way to get to school as transportation is a common barrier to school attendance.

One of those volunteers included White, a former running back with the Browns, who thought the station best fit his skillset.

"This place gave me my first start at football, undrafted free agent," White said. "Came here, I was embraced by the community. I always went out on Tuesdays when it was very important just to be relatable to the community. So being a part of something like this is awesome for me."

While all the craftsmanship was going on, a smaller portion of Browns staff members worked diligently to help finish a mural dedicated to the Brook Park Fire Station. The artwork will serve as a piece to honor local first responders by showing appreciation for their service.

One of the final stations allowed volunteers to create tie-knot blankets and write personal cards to support local military and veterans.

Lunch for the volunteers was catered by EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, an organization that provides formerly incarcerated adults training in the culinary and hospitality fields.

Many Browns staff members also engaged in CPR education, partnered with University Hospitals, to gain practical experience in the field.

In the afternoon session, Browns volunteers created Officials Pathway Program Toolkits. Through the Officials Pathway Program, the Browns support and promote officials at all levels—strengthening development pathways, advancing youth and high school football, and reinforcing respect for officials on and off the field. These toolkits included a custom mailer box with the program mission statement on the inside and filled with a Browns pennant, wristband, challenge coin, fox40 whistle and handwritten thank you card from Browns staff. The mailer box was then placed inside a custom program backpack with a bag tag.

"This event is really authentic for the Cleveland Browns because when we look at community and what we can do to make a difference, we see that there's a range of opportunities," Tekancic said. "But when we are focused on these core areas, we can really make sure that staff and the entire organization and our fans understand what it looks like and how they can be part of the volunteer effort."

For more information, visit www.clevelandbrowns.com/brownsgiveback, and follow @BrownsGiveBack for news and updates.

In conjunction with the Browns Flag In-Schools program, volunteers also assembled flag football tool kits containing necessary equipment and resources. The tool kits support participating schools in the Browns Flag In-Schools program, which is active in 275 elementary schools across Northeast and Central Ohio. The Browns Flag In-Schools program is a turnkey flag football implementation model designed to help physical education teachers build a foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for their students. The program works in tandem with Stay in the Game! by providing school-based activities to further engage students and increase school attendance.

The Cleveland Browns Foundation is focused on education and works to support students in achieving positive academic outcomes by improving school attendance through the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. In support of the Network – which was launched in 2019 by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Harvard's Proving Ground, and is now managed by Battelle – Browns staff volunteers packaged field banners and school incentive packages to help raise awareness for attendance and recognize students.

Dozens of bikes were sprawled out in the event area, assembled by hand by volunteers at one of the stations. A total of 30 bikes were donated to Euclid City Schools, as well as helmets and bike locks, and the bikes will be provided to students as an alternative way to get to school as transportation is a common barrier to school attendance.

One of those volunteers included White, a former running back with the Browns, who thought the station best fit his skillset.

"This place gave me my first start at football, undrafted free agent," White said. "Came here, I was embraced by the community. I always went out on Tuesdays when it was very important just to be relatable to the community. So being a part of something like this is awesome for me."

While all the craftsmanship was going on, a smaller portion of Browns staff members worked diligently to help finish a mural dedicated to the Brook Park Fire Station. The artwork will serve as a piece to honor local first responders by showing appreciation for their service.

One of the final stations allowed volunteers to create tie-knot blankets and write personal cards to support local military and veterans.

Lunch for the volunteers was catered by EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, an organization that provides formerly incarcerated adults training in the culinary and hospitality fields.

Many Browns staff members also engaged in CPR education, partnered with University Hospitals, to gain practical experience in the field.

In the afternoon session, Browns volunteers created Officials Pathway Program Toolkits. Through the Officials Pathway Program, the Browns support and promote officials at all levels—strengthening development pathways, advancing youth and high school football, and reinforcing respect for officials on and off the field. These toolkits included a custom mailer box with the program mission statement on the inside and filled with a Browns pennant, wristband, challenge coin, fox40 whistle and handwritten thank you card from Browns staff. The mailer box was then placed inside a custom program backpack with a bag tag.

"This event is really authentic for the Cleveland Browns because when we look at community and what we can do to make a difference, we see that there's a range of opportunities," Tekancic said. "But when we are focused on these core areas, we can really make sure that staff and the entire organization and our fans understand what it looks like and how they can be part of the volunteer effort."

For more information, visit www.clevelandbrowns.com/brownsgiveback, and follow @BrownsGiveBack for news and updates.