No one could ever question the toughness, determination, character and leadership of Derrick Mason. He’s the consummate professional who prepares physically and mentally for the rigors of the NFL year-round. How else can you explain why an under-sized receiver can year in and year out be as productive as the 14 year veteran?

It simply flies in the face of Father Time.

As you might expect the demands on Mason’s time are wide and far reaching yet he won’t prevent that from giving of his time to the community, particularly when it comes to children.

Through The Derrick Mason Foundation, the Baltimore Ravens receiver has crafted a unique and well thought out program to provide school supplies for area children who lack the means to adequately prepare for the upcoming school year. 

Mason’s goal is to not only equip the kids with the physical tools they need to learn (the backpacks and supplies to fill them), he’s also hoping that by providing kids with these tools, it will increase their self esteem and help them to want to learn.   

“So often kids show up to the first day of school empty handed which their classmates have new backpacks full of pencils, paper, crayons, and glue,” says Mason.  “My hope is that if I can give that child the tools to walk into school with a full backpack like everyone else, it will boost their self-esteem and foster a can-do attitude.”  

Fans of the Ravens and Mason can also participate by making donations in two convenient ways. On the Derrick Mason 85 Facebook page, fans can log on, click to donate and the supplies are shipped directly to The Derrick Mason Foundation’s office where they will be distributed to the most-needy places.  The other way to donate is to drop off new/unused supplies at Arena Motors at 11227 Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills.  They are serving as a drop off location. 

Not to be outdone, Ravens running back Ray Rice is also lending a hand to this program. In fact he and Mason are engaging in a little Facebook competition to see who can collect the most school supplies. It’s all good fun and by the end of the day the real winners are the kids!

But don’t think for a second that these gridiron gladiators don’t want to win. Word is that Mason really wants to take it to Rice.

To add to the fun and allure of the program, both players will draw one name from their respective pool of donors and that person will win either two tickets to a Ravens game or a personal phone call from the player. The phone call will be set up on a conference line so that 10 of the winner’s friends can call in as well and join in the conversation with Rice or Mason. 

Here are the Facebook pages for both players:

www.facebook.com/derrickmason85

www.facebook.com/rayrice