BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Browns safety Rodney McLeod has made it a mission to give back to communities that support him. Since joining the Browns, that community is Northeast Ohio, and on Monday night, McLeod made an impact on families in the area.
Through the foundation he created with his wife, Erika, the Change Our Future Foundation, McLeod took 10 local families on a holiday shopping spree at Meijer in Brunswick. The families were from different parts of Cleveland and surrounding areas, all given $500 gift cards to do their shopping.
Carts quickly filled up at the event. From cleaning supplies and clothes to groceries and household items, families got to shop for necessities. But with kids in tow and the holidays upon us, they also got to shop for the things they wanted.
Squishmallows, Barbie dolls, Mario Kart play sets, and coloring books- kids got some early holiday gifts on the shopping spree.
That was exactly how McLeod hoped the night would go.
“Giving them just a holiday shopping experience for them to look for holiday gifts, household items, just whatever is on their heart and just recognizing that the holidays are a joyous occasion and everyone is deserving of a happy Christmas and a Merry Christmas,” McLeod said.
McLeod was joined by several of his Browns teammates, including cornerback Myles Harden, safety Chris Edmonds and defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. The players, alongside other volunteers with the Browns and McLeod’s foundation, helped the families shop and check out at the end of their spree. At the end, they took pictures and signed autographs with all who wanted one.
Each family expressed gratitude to McLeod and those involved in the event. But one family in particular had an emotional moment during the event.
A mother and her two young children loaded their cart with clothes and toys. Most of the trip was focused on the kids. The mother broke down in tears in appreciation for what proved to be an immediate impact on her and her little ones.
“I’m just blown away. The last 10 months of my life have been awful,” she said, wiping away her tears as Harden and Edmonds helped her out to her car with his shopping haul. “It’s been rough. We don’t have no family here, it’s just us three. I lost my place because it caught fire last year.”
Displaced with nowhere to go, her life was turned upside down.
“I wound up in the shelter with my two kids. Never in a million years would I thought I would have wound up in a shelter with my two kids,” she continued. “But you know, it happened for a reason. But today was beautiful. I just want to express my grace, my—I can’t express, I just can’t, I don’t know the words—just thank y’all.”
Tuesday’s event embodied just what McLeod and his wife have set out to accomplish with their foundation. They’ve made an impact in Philadelphia during McLeod’s time with the Eagles. They’ve brought that here to Cleveland in his two years with the Browns.
“I’ve always made it a point of emphasis for me to pour back into the community that supports us and Cleveland has shown up year after year,” McLeod said. “For my two years, I want to show up for Cleveland and I think that’s what I’m holding close to my heart and that’s why I’ve supported this community for the past two years.”
McLeod is gearing up for his final three NFL games before he enters retirement, and while he hopes to help deliver Browns fans three final victories—his actions Tuesday were a big win off the field for the Northeast Ohio families he helped at the holidays.
We Follow Through
Want us to continue to follow through on a story? Let us know.