Ravens, Players Fund HVAC Upgrade At East Baltimore School

The Baltimore Ravens and Ravens players on Monday announced nearly $200,000 in donations to upgrade heating and air conditioning at an elementary school in east Baltimore.

The units are expected to be up and running at Lakewood Elementary School in January, the team announced,

As part of their Social Justice Program, the Ravens pledged to match player donations to support social justice initiatives and engagement in the area. This is the first project funded by that initiative. This past spring, the NFL announced that each team would match player gifts up to $250,000 annually.

"We want to be remembered as leaving the city better than we found it." -@morgancox46 pic.twitter.com/8G1UDyzMtR — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 3, 2018

City schools CEO Sonja Santelises called the Ravens "an incredible partner."

“This donation from the players and the Ravens organization comes at just the right time, as we continue work to make sure our schools are ready for the colder weather," she said in a statement. "Our Lakewood students will be off to a better start in their school careers, now that their pre-K and kindergarten classrooms will be healthy and comfortable.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Mayor Catherine Pugh and Santelises announced the gift, joined by Ravens President Dick Cass, general counsel Brandon Etheridge and players Morgan Cox, Matthew Judon, Anthony Levine, Chris Moore, C.J. Mosley and Brandon Williams.

As part of our player-led Social Justice Program, we announced today that we are contributing nearly $200,000 to Baltimore City Public Schools to upgrade the HVAC units at Lakewood Elementary. #OurTeamOurCommunity pic.twitter.com/StudoDqfL7 — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 3, 2018

"There have been times where these children have had to go to school in the summer and winter months without reliable air conditioning or heating, and we see this as a great opportunity to provide them with the optimal learning environment that they deserve," Cox said.

Lakewood Elementary serves pre-K and kindergarten students. Two-fifths of its enrollment is special needs students, and nearly two-thirds qualify for free or reduced-price meals.