{"id":884416,"date":"2026-05-07T00:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T00:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/884416\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T00:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T00:21:17","slug":"south-florida-nfl-rookie-rueben-bain-jr-gives-back-to-former-elementary-school-with-revamped-reward-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/884416\/","title":{"rendered":"South Florida NFL rookie Rueben Bain Jr. gives back to former elementary school with revamped “reward room”"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL rookie and South Florida native Rueben Bain Jr.<\/a>, who is preparing to begin his journey with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>,<\/a> returned to his elementary school, Lorah Park Elementary, to fund and revamp a “reward room” for students who excel in class.<\/p>\n

Before reporting to the rookie minicamp, Bain<\/a> surprised students at the school with the gift.<\/p>\n

Bain returned to his elementary school to fund and revamp the Eagle Engagement Arena, a space dedicated as a reward room for students who excel in class. The room now includes amenities like air hockey, ping pong, and giant Jenga, providing a place for high-achieving students to relax, play, and just be kids.<\/p>\n

“Kids understand rewards quicker than anything,” Bain said. “If you show them their hard work pays off, and they get a reward they love, that’s the best teacher.” He expressed excitement about the new space, adding, “I was so happy to see we have a room where they can play and have fun.”<\/p>\n

Principal Tashimba Andrews said Bain was hands-on with his support from day one. <\/p>\n

“He asked me to make a list of everything that would make students happy,” Andrews said. “Pre-draft, he went down that list \u2014 check, check, check. He’s eager to give back to the students who helped shape him.”<\/p>\n

Bain also partnered with Sprayground to donate backpacks, art supplies, murals, and science equipment, expanding opportunities across the school.<\/p>\n

James Ferrell from Sprayground emphasized the importance of the donation. “It warms my heart \u2014 this is our future. Sprayground and Rueben partnered to help these kids dream bigger and seize opportunities.”<\/p>\n

The donation is a reflection of Bain’s belief in remembering where you come from, taking pride in your community, and showing kids what is possible when you work for it.<\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NFL rookie and South Florida native Rueben Bain Jr., who is preparing to begin his journey with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,7,216,122,6,119341,6898,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":["post-884416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-buccaneers","tag-football","tag-miami","tag-national-football-league","tag-nfl","tag-school-visits","tag-south-florida","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampabay","tag-tampabaybuccaneers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116530438694665147","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}