Lakewood Sparkle Effect Cheerleaders Funded By Cleveland Browns Foundation

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood High School is one of five schools throughout Northeast Ohio that have received full sponsorship for Sparkle Effect inclusive cheer teams. Sparkle Effect cheer teams feature students with and without disabilities throughout the football season.

The full sponsorship for the program comes from the Cleveland Browns Foundation. The foundation said in a statement that Sparkle Effect teams are a symbol of acceptance from communities.

Sparkle Effect cheer teams will rally the crowds during the first quarters of home football and basketball games. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)

Over the summer, Sparkle Effect staffers visited Lakewood to provide on-site training to the school's Sparkle Effect team. The staffers helped establish best practices for student leaders.

"Ultimately, training activates a chain reaction that continues throughout the lifespan of the team: teammates with and without disabilities discover more similarities than differences and set an example that invites their entire school to embrace acceptance and inclusion as core values," the Cleveland Browns Foundation said in a statement.

Lakewood's Sparkle Effect cheer team was created in 2015. The Cleveland Browns Foundation provided funding for the new program.

Photo from Alex Belisle/Faces of Lakewood