CLEVELAND — As a part of its annual Northeast Ohio Hero Awards, the American Red Cross of Northeast Ohio honored the Haslam family and the Cleveland Browns with the Community Leader Award on Wednesday.
RELATED: More Cleveland Browns news from WKYC
In a release, the American Red Cross of Northeast Ohio said that the Haslam family earned the award "for serving the Northeast Ohio community with outstanding leadership, vision and a commitment to the health and well-being of the region." Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam accepted the award as a part of a virtual ceremony, which honored local residents, organizations and frontline workers who have shown courage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can watch the full presentation here. The Haslams are featured at the 39-minute mark.
Last March, the Haslam family announced that it had donated $1.5 million to coronavirus relief efforts in Ohio. As a part of the donation, $1 million was earmarked for the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, which aims to aid the work of public health officials and expand local capacity to address all aspects of the outbreak as efficiently as possible. The other $500,000 was sent to the Columbus Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund, which assists non-profit organizations that are responding to the spread of COVID-19 and experiencing financial challenges by doing so.
“We are humbled by the tremendous work of people around the world in their efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19 and we wanted to try to positively impact those affected in our own communities of Cleveland and Columbus,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement at the time of the donation. “We are grateful for the individuals who are putting others before themselves and for the sacrifices they are making.”