RepYourHood
In the words of LeBron James, "Wait, you thought we were just doing one drop????? PLEASE…"
As the Garfield Rams cheerleaders conducted practice yesterday, their routine was interrupted by the blaring of red and blue sirens. As the sirens drew closer the girls cleared the patch of concrete they were practicing on. Following closely behind Akron’s finest was LeBron’s Foundation mobile. As the mobile and cruiser came to a halt excitement filled the air. As the cars sat in silence the girls traded whispers, "They did this at Kenmore!"
The doors of the Foundation mobile burst open and LeBron’s "black ops team" silently filed out. Standing in front of the girls, their shirts read, "In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned." The cheerleaders stood in anxious anticipation as Survivor’s "Eye of the Tiger" billowed from a small but mighty Beats Pill. Two more members of the black ops team filed out, each with a duffel bag slung over their shoulder. Standing at the end of the silent line, they completed LeBron’s famous phrase with" You work for what you have," proudly displayed across their chests. As anticipation reached its climax, the team dug into the duffel bags to reveal the Garfield cheerleaders' brand new uniforms.
The Rams were identified by our partners at Akron Public Schools as having acted with exemplary sportsmanship and having been leaders in their community. For their exemplary behavior, they EARNED a complete cheerleading outfit which consisted of a long sleeve top, skirt, Nike shoes, socks, I PROMISE band and branded Nike duffel bag.
As the girls swooned over their new uniforms, the group paused to hear an important message from the Foundation:
As a squad, you have been leaders in the community with the way you have conducted yourself on and off the field and court. Akron Public Schools has identified you as having performed with exemplary sportsmanship and having gone into every test ahead of you as a squad. Teamwork and togetherness are extremely important to bringing about success. You have done a great job of implementing this as a unit. You are role models to the Wheels for Education and Akron I PROMISE Network students and they look up to you just as they look up to LeBron. You have earned this because of how you have put these ideals into action. Now you can represent your school not only with character but with style. Look good, feel good, play good. Continue to work hard. Every class, every test, every practice, every game, every competition, give it all you got.
STRIVE FOR GREATNESS!
The Garfield uniforms were the second donation of the Earned Not Given uniform drop campaign. LeBron and the Foundation will be rewarding teams and clubs throughout the Akron Public Schools system with new uniforms on a monthly basis. The mission of the Earned Not Given drops is to create a positive cultural change within Akron Public Schools athletics by rewarding exemplary behavior so that we can create additional role models.
