There’s a famous athlete from Northeast Ohio that once said, “If you're not from here, live here, play here, dedicate yourself to Cleveland, then it makes no sense for you to live at this point. Cleveland against the world.”
While Josh Cribbs may not be originally from here, he has dedicated his life to Cleveland and serving Northeast Ohio.
Cribbs’ nonprofit, the TeamCribbs Foundation, focuses on making the community a better, happier place by organizing fundraisers, community-building events and back to school activities.
“You don’t have to have a certain amount of wealth or be a star athlete of any kind. When you have an opportunity to give back, I try to lead by example and show people just how to do that,” Cribbs said.
Cribbs and his foundation are teaming up with a pair of architecture students at his Alma Mater, Kent State, to raise money to take 100 kids shopping for Christmas.
The shopping spree will be aided in funding by a replica of First Energy Stadium that is currently being raffled off.
“I want that in my house! Make me one!” Cribbs said of the model currently under construction by David Resnik and Brandon Hudak.
You may remember David Resnik, who used his models of Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena to craft a new career out of cardboard and construction paper.
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He tapped Hudak to join the project for the First Energy Stadium replica.
“We always talk about how architecture can take you places and what you can do it with it. And David is really cool because he uses it to help charity.” Hudak said. “To work on a project with this and then partner with Josh Cribbs is just amazing.”
Cribs has made it his mission since he retired as a player to never forget the people who helped shape him throughout his adult life. He chooses to get his hands dirty, quite literally, instead of using them to sign autographs.
“The overall goal is to make their life better. That’s the reward.” Cribs said. “The reward you get is seeing the smiles on the faces”
The raffle for the stadium runs through Dec. 16. As of Thanksgiving, It’s already raised $1,500 for the foundation.
Ever the competitor, Cribbs is challenging people to not only buy raffle tickets but to step up and do some charity work of their own this holiday season.
“This is an opportunity for others to say ‘I want to take my giving to this level. And that’s a great thing, To compete at giving back. That’s an awesome thing.”
More information about the raffle can befound here.
