Charge Raise Awareness and The Writing on Their Jerseys

INAUGURAL BRAILLE LITERACY AWARENESS NIGHT SLATED FOR THIS SATURDAY, JANUARY 13

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Charge will be hosting Braille Literacy Awareness Night this Saturday, January 13^th at 8:00 p.m.. As part of Braille Literacy Awareness Month, we want to showcase the importance of making braille accessible and educate fans on the importance of Braille as a writing system for the visually impaired community.

The game, originally scheduled for 7:00 p.m., was pushed back to support our local football team, while also allowing fans to attend the Charge game without missing any of the action. We plan to have the game playing on our new, state-of-the-art, LED screen – arguably the best screen in The Land!

As part of the night, players will be wearing specially printed Braille jerseys with two sets of raised dots. New Jersey Sets designed the jerseys and braille using puff paint for the larger text while Aille Design added braille beading in the specific size needed for the braille to be legible. The jerseys will be auctioned on DASH with all proceeds benefitting Cleveland Sight Center.  

In showcasing the members of the community and how they are empowered to live independent lives through braille, the Charge are excited to have Westlake senior, Allan Wylie back on the air. Allan will be joining play-by-play announcer Scott Zurilla on Bally Sports Great Lakes for the second year in a row. Allan has been blind since birth, but that has not stopped him from pursuing his passion for sports and sports broadcasting. He has created his own note system using braille and his ability to recall information helps to add color commentary to football, basketball, baseball and more. 

“Allan is a phenomenal on-air talent,” added Rocco Maragas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Charge. “After working with him last season, we were inspired to create this platform. It was extremely important to us to be fully authentic. Ensuring the jerseys have our crest of ‘Charge’ and player names raised in large braille was only the first step. Our staff learned that braille in such a large size isn’t legible to the visually impaired. Partnering with Aille Design to add legible braille on the front and back of the uniform was vital to us staying true to the goal of authenticity, education, and awareness. Taking it a step further, coaches and staff will all be wearing custom shirts by Aille Design with ‘Cleveland Charge’ in legible braille across the chest. ”

To learn more about Allan’s story, check out these news items from The Athletic and Fox 8. 

Great Memories Start NOW! Charge Nation Season Memberships are now on sale for the 2024-25 Cleveland Charge season. When you join Charge Nation for next season, you’ll get the rest of the 2023-24 season for FREE! Get the best seats, best pricing, and exclusive gifts and events such as the annual Meet the Team Party when you join! Call 216-420-2730 for more information.

New this year and starting at ONLY $29 per seat, indulge yourself in our All-You-Can-Eat Seats with unlimited hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, and soft drinks served through the third quarter!  For just $10 more, move to our center court seats and still keep eating! Seats are limited and will go fast so secure yours today!

Fans can stay up-to-date on the latest team news by following: @ChargeCLE on X & Instagram and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChargeCLE.

And don’t forget, the Charge app is now fully integrated in the Cleveland Cavaliers mobile app, presented by LECOM. Download the Cavs/Charge Mobile App in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

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ABOUT ROCK ENTERTAINMENT GROUP:

Rock Entertainment Group is the umbrella entity of the teams and venues that are part of Dan Gilbert’s Rock Family of Companies.  It includes the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, the AHL Cleveland Monsters, the NBA G League Charge and Cavs Legion of the NBA 2K League; the operation of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Legion Lair Lit by TCP home of Cavs Legion in Cleveland and Cleveland Clinic Courts - the Cavaliers’ training and development center in Independence, Ohio. As the unified brand platform, Rock Entertainment Group formally links multiple sports, venues, music, and content properties together to better position them collectively for collaboration, growth and new opportunities, while relentlessly creating amazing experiences for fans, teams, partners, stakeholders and thousands of staff members across the full spectrum of properties.