Ravens Honor Rows presented by M&T Bank

The Baltimore Ravens, Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism (GOSV) and M&T Bank invite you to nominate a YOUTH GROUP or YOUTH ORGANIZATION for the 10th Annual “Honor Rows” Program. During each Baltimore Ravens home game throughout the 2009 regular season, a youth group or youth organization will be honored for its outstanding volunteer service to communities. Honorees will be selected by a panel of youth service leaders, with the assistance of the Baltimore Ravens, the GOSV and M&T Bank staff, and will receive:

• Up to 100 tickets per group for youth and chaperones to attend a Baltimore Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium
• “Honor Rows” T-shirts
• Official in-game recognition of honorees on the SMARTVISION screen
• Recognition on WBFF-Fox 45 and The CW Baltimore public service announcements

Please Note - Organizations must demonstrate a strong youth volunteer service program to qualify for consideration.

Application Available Summer 2010.

Ravens High School Coach of the Week

Presented by Toyota, the Ravens High School Coach of the Week program honors a Baltimore-area high school football coach who makes a significant impact on his athletes. The 2008 weekly recipients are listed below and received the following:

• A $2,000 donation to the school's football program
• An award certificate signed by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and Gene Washington, the NFL's Director of Football Development
• A specially-designed hat

Coach Tony Shermeyer of Century High School was named Ravens High School Coach of the Year and received an additional $4,000 donation towards Century’s football program.

The Ravens High School Coach of the Year Award has been a fixture in youth athletics since 1997. Previous recipients include Augie Waibel of Poly (1997), Nick Arminio of Eastern Technical (1998), Pete Pompey of Edmonson (1999), Dominic Damico of McDonogh (2000), Steve Turnbaugh of Hereford (2001), Dave Eubank of Dundalk (2002), Gene Brown of South Carroll (2003), Ben Eaton of Dunbar (2004), Brad Wilson of Westminster (2005), Dante Jones of Edmondson Westside (2006) and Lawrence Smith of Dunbar (2007).

2008 Recipients

Week 1: Chuck Markiewicz, Arundel High School (Gambrills, MD)
Week 2: Lance Clelland, Meade High School (Ft. Meade, MD)
Week 3: Tony Shermeyer, Century High School (Sykesville, MD)
Week 4: Keith Robinson, Perry Hall High School (Baltimore, MD)
Week 5: Reggie White, Milford Mill High School (Baltimore, MD)
Week 6: Anthony Burgos, Franklin High School (Reisterstown, MD)
Week 7: Johnny Brooks, Havre de Grace High School (Havre de Grace, MD)
Week 8: Eric Woodson, Northwestern High School (Baltimore, MD)
Week 9 : Don Graef, Queen Anne's County High School (Centreville, MD)
Week 10: Dave Dolch, St, Paul's School (Brooklandville, MD)

2008 Ravens High School Coach of the Year: Tony Shermeyer, Century High School

Ravens Champions Athlete of the Week presented by Toyota

This fall, The Baltimore Ravens are promoting academic, athletic, and community excellence through the Ravens Champions Athlete of the Week, a program that recognizes the athletic achievements of Baltimore area youth and promotes local high school athletics.

Eight times during the NFL regular season (corresponding with Ravens home games), two student athletes (a male and a female athlete) are awarded the honor of Ravens Champions Athlete of the Week, presented by TOYOTA. Potential candidates include all Baltimore area high school athletes. Benefits awarded to Ravens Champions Athletes of the Week include tickets to that week's home game, official media recognition, and a $500 donation to the recipients' athletic programs! For more information on Ravens Champions, please call 410-701-4117.

NFL Community Programs

The Ravens join the NFL on specific programs designed to promote volunteerism and give back to the community.

NFL Community Quarterback

Funded by NFL Charities, the Baltimore Ravens Community Quarterback Award recognizes community and youth volunteers who demonstrate leadership, dedication and a commitment to bettering their communities. The 2008 Community Quarterbacks were saluted at the Ravens’ victory over the Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 7. The honorees received Ravens apparel, autographed items, a commemorative plaque, a personalized jersey and a $2,500 check for their respective nonprofit organization.

The 2008 honorees are listed below:

Lindsay Chetelat, Ocean City Maryland Chapter Surfrider Organization
Reverend Jack Sharp, Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation
Polly Winde Surhoff, Pathfinders for Autism

Due to the overwhelming response and competitiveness of applications, the Ravens chose six additional individuals who will each receive a $1,000 grant for their respective nonprofit organizations.

LuAnn Blackman, League of Dreams
Frank Russell, The Salvation Army Baltimore Area Command
Kathleen Potter, Anne Arundel County Court Appointed Special Advocates
Shannon Moody, Cherry Hill Middle School Peer Mediator Club
Zeke Berhoff-Cohen, Teach For America Baltimore
Bendan Schniedwind, Special Olympics Maryland 

NFL/United Way Hometown Huddle

The NFL/United Way Hometown Huddle is a collection of hands-on volunteer projects performed by all 32 NFL teams simultaneously on a single day each year. Each year, the Ravens work with Sandtown Habitat for Humanity to rebuild and refurbish homes in Baltimore. In October of 2008, single mother Dynetta Spain and daughter, Egypt, received keys to their new home, renovated by Ravens players, cheerleaders and corporate volunteers.

Ravens Plan in Motion: Granting a Future in Fitness

The Baltimore Ravens All Community Team Foundation (RACTF) is committed to improving, encouraging and enabling the healthy development of youth in the Baltimore area, as well as other parts of the state of Maryland. For the third consecutive year, the RACTF continues the Ravens Plan in Motion project, which provides grants of up to $5,000 to qualifying nonprofit organizations that create and/or continue programs or projects that promote physical fitness and nutrition education.

The grant program continues the RACTF’s commitment to increasing physical activity among area youth and seeks to encourage healthy youth activities. The RACTF will consider funding requests that meet the criteria listed below:

• Programs or projects must be directed at youth (5-18) and must promote physical fitness and/or nutrition education.
• Organizations that submit requests must be a 501 (c) 3 organization.
• Nonprofits must illustrate a programming component with measurable goals in order to be considered. Through the Ravens Plan in Motion project, the RACTF will not consider funding for the construction of buildings/fields/etc.
• Programs or projects must take place in Maryland.

Example programs and projects include after-school curriculum that features physical activity as its main component, initiating a walking club in a school or neighborhood, or purchasing fitness equipment (medicine balls, jump ropes, pedometers) for an existing program. Creative ideas, including enhancements to existing programs, are encouraged.

Through the Ravens Plan in Motion grants, nearly $200,000 has been disbursed to area nonprofits over the last two years, funding more than 40 programs.

Application Available Spring 2010.