The Ravens have once again stepped up to help Baltimore City residents and take another step forward on social justice.
This week, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) announced a partnership with Lights On! – a community-driven program with the mission to strengthen police/community relationship and help keep the streets safer.
The Ravens made a $20,000 donation to help get the program off the ground and have now committed more than $10 million to social justice programs in recent years.
Through the program, when a BPD officer is engaging in a routine traffic stop involving a mechanical violation (such as a burned out light bulb or broken turn signal), instead of issuing a ticket for the violation, the officer can provide a voucher for free repair at a participating local auto repair shop.
"Rebuilding trust between law enforcement and our neighborhoods is one of our key priorities – and partnerships like this one with Lights On! and the Baltimore Ravens help us do exactly that," Mayor Scott said. "We want to make sure everyone has access to needed resources to get necessary repairs and keep our roadway and residents safe. This program adds one more tool for our department to serve residents in the best way possible, and I'm looking forward to seeing the positive results in what I hope is just a first partnership with one of our districts."
Lights On! will launch in the Eastern District and expand to the entire City of Baltimore in the coming months. The program has partnered with 163 law enforcement agencies across 21 states and has had more than 10,000 vouchers redeemed so far.
Ravens President Sashi Brown called it a "tremendous program that's been proven nationwide."
"We believe heavily in supporting the folks on the front line with our Baltimore Police Department, but also our communities," Brown said. "There are ways and programs out there to do both at the same time and this is an example of that.
"I'm so grateful for the support of the greatest NFL team there is, the Baltimore Ravens, and their generous donation to bring Lights On! to Baltimore," Mayor Scott said. "We have so much more work to do, but I'm grateful for all the great partners that we have in the city that are stepping up to help Baltimore be safer, including our Ravens."
