BALTIMORE — Baltimore Ravens defensive back Brandon Carr was named the 10th recipient of the Tim Wheatley Award on Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Carr received the award for his community service in Baltimore.
David Wheatley, son of the late Tim Wheatley presented the award to Carr.
“I should have brought a notecard for this gentleman. He has a long list. He does everything from Baltimore to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and Dallas and Kansas City where he played throughout his career. He’s done a incredible job mentoring our youth here in Baltimore and the other places I mentioned before,” Wheatley said before giving Carr the award.
The award honors a local athlete who provides contributions to a team on the field and in the community. The award is named after Wheatley, a former Baltimore Sun sports editor who was killed in a car accident in 2009.
“I am honored and privileged to accept this on behalf of the Carr Cares Foundation. It’s always refreshing and empowering to do great things, and try to do as much as I can off the field in addition to on the field,” Carr said after receiving the award.
Carr’s foundation— Carr Cares Foundation was founded to inspire young students to reach their potential through literacy programs and other learning tools. The foundation also strives to help students live a healthy lifestyle through extracurricular activities and balanced nutrition. Carr developed the desire to impact the community after seeing his parents do the same thing while raising him.
“Community service to me is second nature. I saw it my whole life from my parents growing up,” Carr said. “My mom teaching in the Flint community schools to my dad coaching me as an AAU basketball coach and being a mentor to my teammates and peers growing up.
“They’ve always stressed the importance of using your platform in a positive way. The platform was there for me and it’s an opportunity for me to give back to the youth, and connect with them and the community as well. I’ve found a few different avenues along the way to try to utilize my time, efforts, and energy towards breast cancer, child literacy and try to move the needle in each community.”
Carr recently expanded his foundation’s outreach to include raising awareness about breast cancer, which took his mother Kathy’s life in 2014. Like he does on game day, Carr draws energy from the people who watch him play and repurposes it towards his community service.
“I’ve met a lot of amazing people that give me energy every day. Whether I win or lose on the field, I know on Mondays and throughout the week, I have kids counting on me— looking forward to resources or more time or another initiative. Something to keep them occupied and interested so they continue to grow and learn. That’s the reason why I do it,” Carr explained.