Ravens' All Community Team Helps Nonprofits

A bye week is coming up, but that didn't stop more than a dozen volunteers from the Baltimore Ravens' All Community Team from lending a helping hand Tuesday at the Warehouse Collaborative in North Baltimore.

"It's extremely important. It is at the fabric of our DNA. It's what our organization believes in greatly. Our team's job is to win football games, but a big part of that is winning in the community as well," said Kennan Harrell, community relations coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Dawn White reports:

Six nonprofit organizations share the building, and volunteers helped two of them.

"It makes me feel good to be able to do something and give back to the community that makes a difference because you're not always given that opportunity to do something," volunteer Canden Queen said. "To be part of something that you know is going to not only affect people today but affect people tomorrow, it just really feels good."

The volunteers cleaned shelves and organized books for the Maryland Book Bank. The organization will give out its one-millionth book next month and currently has about 500,000 books in its warehouse.

"It's rainy. It's gross today, so I think when I see volunteers who are still willing to come out and serve their community and help our programs on days like this, it inspires me even more about the work that we're doing in the community," said Kimberly Crout, program manager for the Maryland Book Bank.

Other volunteers sorted and organized sporting equipment for Leveling the Playing Field.

"It's an encouraging feeling to put it bluntly to not only see that we have the support of the Baltimore Ravens from a financial aspect but also that they are more than happy to get people together and invest their time," said Kaitlin Brennan, Baltimore program director for Leveling the Playing Field.

The mission of the Ravens' ACT is to increase corporate and community awareness and participating in the Ravens Foundation, player foundations and local charitable organizations through a season-long NFL football competition among local and regional businesses.

Click here for more information on how to donate to the Maryland Book Bank, and click here for information on how to donate to Leveling the Playing Field.