The Baltimore Ravens and the Lady Ravens Association teamed for the 11th annual Ravens Coat Giveaway at the Helping Up Mission homeless shelter on Monday. Several Ravens players, including Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor, Eugene Monroe, Jah Reed, Justin Tucker Steve Smith Sr. were on hand to distribute coats and cold weather gear to a group of Baltimore men in need.
Torrey Smith led off the day with six trivia questions about the Ravens players that were on hand. The players signed six footballs prior to the event. Those who answered the questions correctly where each given a football.
The coats were donated by the Ravens. Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset donated the hats and gloves that were distributed to a large crowd on that filled the chapel at the shelter. Many of the players were in good spirits despite coming off of a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers the night before. In fact, to some it was a good way to help put things in perspective. Eugene Monroe took the time to talk about how important it is to take part in community events and how there’s a big picture.
“It means a lot to turn around from playing and get to do something like this. It’s more important than how I may feel right now. It really hits home on how important it is to be able to give back to people.” Monroe continued: “I believe that if you haven’t thought about all the things to be thankful for throughout the year, now is a time to really to be able to do that. We really need to be appreciative of what we have and when we do that, it makes us more willing to get out and do things like this.”
The event took place at the Helping Up Mission homeless shelter in Baltimore. The Helping Up Mission is one of Baltimore’s oldest and largest non-profit organizations. They have been in existence since 1885, when they first opened their doors to the city’s poor and homeless. Student athletes from the Dunbar High School football team were on hand to carry packages full of coats into the chapel to be given away by the Ravens players. The members of the Dunbar football team also served lunch to the homeless men in attendance.
The Helping Up Mission will be serving Thanksgiving dinner later this month. If you would like to help provide meals for the homeless, please visit their website at: www.helpingupmission.org
Follow on Twitter: @TDavenport_PPI / @PlayerInsiders
