AKRON, Ohio — Getting kids to have fun while experiencing new possibilities in their education and futures was the goal of Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt Sunday as he hosted a Fortnite tournament for children with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio in Lorain.
Hunt began the day at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s Desich Family Campus, touring the new esports facility that has been set up for the kids. The esports center aims to target some of the older children at the Boys & Girls Clubs, providing them with activities that fit their interests, but also giving them a greater goal in the long run.
"It so far has been a rousing success and has proven extremely popular with our club members here," said Griffin Crowley, e-Sports for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. "It'll really be a chance for them to see where they can go if they participate in this program."
While on a tour of the facilities in Lorain, Hunt took pictures, signed autographs and made memories with the kids. But that wasn't the end of their day.
"Something I like to do with esports and stuff like that, video-gaming is something I've always grown up liking so just being able to spend the day with these kids and have fun and be somebody they can look up to," Hunt said. "I care because I'm from Lorain, I was born and raised here, all my family's here. It's not always easy coming up as a kid so I just like to show these kids that we can have fun, you can always be positive and grow and learn."
After hanging out at the e-sports facility at the Boys & Girls Clubs, Hunt took the kids down to Akron to highlight what esports can bring to their future if gaming became a passion.
Hunt hosted a Fortnite tournament at the University of Akron's Esports Center, getting all of the kids on teams to compete in rounds of games Sunday afternoon.
While the kids were excited about playing Fortnite with Hunt, they got an even bigger surprise when Browns cornerback Denzel Ward popped by to participate. Not long after, Browns running back Nick Chubb joined online to also play in the tournament.
"I'm a real gamer. On Fortnite I'm really a shooter, I don't do too much building," Hunt said before the tournament. "Chubb's really good at it, so is D'Ernest [Johnson], they play it all the time."
Chubb's team went on a spree, winning consecutive games, which the kids were excited to be a part of.
While the day was full of fun for the kids, it was also a way to introduce the kids to the opportunities that esports can present to them in terms of furthering their education, like the students in the University of Akron's program are doing, and presenting students new ideas for what their futures can look like.
"It gives our kids not only to be in house, but to step out and see things bigger and greater," said "These skills that they do every day, the gaming, it's fun but it can take them places that they never though they could be...this could be a gateway for them to be like 'Wow, there's so much more than my hub that I'm used to in the city of Lorain.'"
#Browns Kareem Hunt is hosting a Fortnite tournament with kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lorain County at the University of Akron's esport facility.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) September 4, 2022
Denzel Ward was here participating and Nick Chubb joined online as well. Chubb's team has won the last two games. pic.twitter.com/4HhPZxA3HA
Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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