The Ravens and Under Armour have teamed up once again to help Baltimore.
The two donated a combined $75,000 to the Maryland Transit Authority to restore free after-school bus rides for Baltimore public school students for the rest of this school year. The Ravens donated $25,000 and Under Armour gave $50,000.
When added to the $26,000 raised by families, including in a city council bake sale, the donations will allow students to ride anywhere for free on the MTA buses until 8 p.m. Late last year, the hours were cut back to 6 p.m. as part of a new fare card, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The limited bus hours made travel difficult, or impossible, for students going to outside after-school programs and volunteer work. Students were stranded when they tried to return from such beneficial programs, leading to some quitting.
"The extracurricular activities for school children in Baltimore City are very important – not only athletic activities, but also non-athletic activities," Ravens President Dick Cass said.
"We support a number of after-school programs in Baltimore City. Some children have had to forgo going to these because the bus service was going to end at 6 o'clock."
Among the many programs the Ravens work with are Bridges Baltimore, Reading Partners, Playworks and Sister's Circle, which work with students in Baltimore City both during and after school. The Ravens support the Judy Centers in Baltimore City, Boys and Girls Clubs, the Baltimore Cirriculum Project and more through their PLAY 60 grant.
Cass said the Ravens will re-evaluate the situation again next year when deciding whether they need to help the Baltimore City Public School system more.
This isn't the first time the Ravens and Under Armour have provided funding for Baltimore community projects.
The Ravens donated $1 million to the Under Armour House on Fayette Street, which opened with Living Classrooms this past fall. The two teamed up to donate brand new UA uniforms to all Baltimore City high school varsity football and girls varsity basketball teams in 2014. For the past five years, the Ravens and Under Armour have provided youth football equipment and apparel grants to local teams.
"We like to do things with Under Armour," Cass said. "We're both committed to the city of Baltimore. I think we'll see more projects going forward where we get together with Under Armour."
