NFL Player Gives 79 Students $10,000 for College
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- 12/27/2011 |
- 10:00 am
Braylon Edwards knows that he's been fortunate. His football abilities brought him to the University of Michigan, then on to the National Football League where he's had a long, if colorful, career.
But Edwards also knows that not every young person is so fortunate.
That's why, after signing a hefty rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2005, he pledged $10,000 to 100 local eighth-graders to help pay for college. But as with any good receiver, there was a catch: the students each had to maintain a 2.5 GPA and donate at least 15 hours of community service.
Of the 100 kids who were offered the opportunity, 79 took advantage of it -- and in a city where only half of public school students graduate high school, that represents a significant bump in the numbers.
This semester, Edwards' commitment is paying off. Those 79 students are now enrolled at 22 college campuses across the country. Many of them attend local Ohio universities, but the list also includes heavyweights like Harvard, Cornell and Johns Hopkins.
Beyond the college cash, Edwards also provided laptops and other supplies to help the freshmen get off on the right foot.
"Without this scholarship, I proably wouldn't be here," Bowling Green student David Gholston said. And he's not alone.
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