Shedeur Sanders plays football with kids at Rainbow Terrace
Shedeur Sanders played football with kids at the Garden Valley Fun Fest on July 16, 2025.Olivia Mitchell
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders joined community leaders Wednesday at the Garden Valley Fun Fest, an event designed to bring healing and unity to traumatized families following a devastating fire last month.
The celebration took place at the Rainbow Terrace Apartment complex on East 74th Street and Carson Avenue, where a June 23 fire destroyed 44 units and displaced more than 120 residents.
“Everything’s fun and it’s a great event for the city...to bring happiness here,” said Sanders, who was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in April. “I’m just enjoying myself here right now. When I leave here, then we’ll focus on the season, but right now, this is more important than football.”
Sanders played games with children, who were ecstatic to see him, and posed for photos, including with police officers, while introducing himself and other Cleveland Browns players who joined him.
Attorney Stanley Jackson, who helped organize the event, explained the importance of the gathering.
“The community needed a friendly celebration and a fun day,” Jackson said.
The festival featured free food, drinks and giveaways. Children enjoyed video games inside a specially designed truck, received free haircuts from the Keratin Barber School, and rode bumper cars.
Face painting, ice cream and other offerings were available, with food trucks including Zanzibar Soul Fusion, Kona Ice, and a truck serving funnel cakes.
The June fire had tragic consequences. Cordale Sheffield, 30, died on July 10 after undergoing multiple surgeries.
Sheffield had escaped the fire but ran back into the burning apartment to save his girlfriend’s daughter, who was too afraid to jump from a window after her brother did.
Sheffield suffered burns over 90% of his body. The children, ages 10 and 11, also underwent multiple surgeries and remained hospitalized last week.
Lorenzo Sanders, 52, was among five people transported to hospitals after the fire. A 13-year resident of the complex, he was asleep when the explosion occurred.
“It’s like, you wouldn’t expect anything like that to happen,” Lorenzo Sanders said. “It was just real devastating and I’m still shocked.”
Lorenzo Sanders, who tied sheets together to escape the flames, has since been relocated to another apartment. While enjoying the festival, he expressed disappointment that more families affected by the fire weren’t in attendance.
Also during the fire, a woman dropped her baby to safety from a third-floor window. The baby was unharmed.
Two weeks after the fire, most displaced residents had been rehoused with assistance from the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority.
The cause of the fire still remains unknown.
Jackson praised Shedeur Sanders’ participation in the event.
“His heart is in the right place. There is no better community for him to be in than right here with us,” Jackson said.
At one point, Shedeur Sander’s started a football game. And of course, he played quarterback as the children battled over who would catch the ball after he threw multiple long passes.
Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr said he was grateful that the Browns high profile addition made the effort to stop by the festivities at the apartment complex.
“Shedeur Sanders and his team reached out and said they wanted to come into the community to have a fun day so children and the families can smile again,” Starr said during the event. “And that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
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