Weekend with Myles: Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett spends weekend giving back to local children

CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett is no stranger to giving back. From the artwork he's had commissioned around Cleveland to the food drives he hosts around the holidays, Garrett is always looking to get out and make an impact in the community. But this weekend, Garrett went all out, spending his time giving back to local children in fun ways.

Fun being the key word.

"Have fun, that’s what it’s all about," Garrett said.

And that's exactly what he did. It all started Friday evening at Valley View Cinemark Theater. Garrett hosted groups of children from the United Way and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History at the theater, treating them to an exclusive red carpet movie screening of the new Jurassic World: Dominion film.

Garrett has always had a love for dinosaurs and archaeology, and while he knows he's able to inspire kids to have a love for sports, he also said he hopes that events like these can instill a love of science as well.

Friends of Garrett, including Browns defensive tackle Glen Logan, defensive end Chase Winovich and fullback Johnny Stanton came to support Garrett at the movie screening—and catch the flick themselves. Each took time to say hello to young fans, taking pictures with them and creating lasting memories.

But Garrett's appearance was the most coveted, with kids lined up on the red carpet calling his name, reaching out for high-fives and asking for autographs from "Mr. Garrett", to which he happily obliged.

"I was a kid like that. It was with my brother, looking up at Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson and all those guys thinking 'wow this is amazing,' just trying to play ball with them, trying to get them to sign things. Never thought I'd be on the other side of it," Garrett said. "Now that I am, I want to be able to show how much I love and appreciate all of them."

After a long night at the cinema, Garrett continued the fun on Saturday morning as he hosted his first-ever Pro Camp at Gilmour Academy.

Garrett was greeted with cheers from the kids, and showered with compliments from his young fans.

"Myles is throwing dimes today, he could play quarterback for sure!"

"Myles just shook my hand, I'm never washing this hand again!"

"Good luck this season Myles, we're rooting for you."

Garrett made his rounds at the Pro Camp, touching base with each age group, appropriately named for the different phases of his football career—the Warriors were the youngest kids at the camp, named for his high school team's name, the Aggies were the middle age group, named after his college team name, and the oldest kids at the camp were the Browns, where he is now.

Throughout the day, Garrett made sure the kids had fun—while having just as much fun himself.

"You'll never give as much as you can if you don't love it, if you don't truly feel like you're a part of it," Garrett said. "I want them to be able to get out here and just appreciate the game.

Garrett didn't take it easy on any of the kids though, guarding the little ones tight, sprinkling a little power behind his passes, and play-wrestling for the ball.

"You got to teach them young," Garrett laughed. "If you want to go get it, you got to go win it."

Even Garrett's coach, Kevin Stefanski, showed up to see the student becoming the master.

The weekend was packed full of fun events, and it continues into Sunday, with Day 2 of Garrett's Pro Camp scheduled. Making sure the people he meets have fun is top of mind for Garrett, but what really holds importance for the defensive end is the lasting memories he's able to leave in the place he now calls home.

"That's entirely my being and who I want to be as a person," Garrett said. "And I'm going to do my best for this community for as long as I can."

Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.

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