After his playing days were over in 2019, former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith was looking for a home for his LEVEL82 Foundation, so he took a ride around the city.
He looked for a place with high need, near a school, with a strong community association, and a green space for kids to play outside.
When he came to the Hilton Recreation Center in West Baltimore, he found a field that was half dirt, so it was missing quite a bit of green, and the building needed extensive renovations after being closed for more than 10 years.
“This place is perfect,” he thought. “We created a vision and a dream for what it would be like to truly maximize the space.”
Six years later, on a sunny October afternoon, that dream came true. The ribbon was cut on the Baltimore Ravens Boys & Girls Club, a state-of-the-art facility that will be transformative for kids and families in West Baltimore.
“It’s honestly unbelievable,” Smith said Monday. “What you’re looking at is the excitement of opportunities – a feeling that you have the tools. There are a lot of barriers to overcome, and this space removes a lot of them to provide support. And that’s going to lead to a lot more success for young men and women.”
Smith wasn’t the only one with a dream. While he helped get the ball rolling, many other partners got it across the finish line in what was a massive undertaking. The project is only the third such collaboration in the nation between an NFL team and a Boys & Girls Club.