Release courtesy of ArkansasMatters.com

NEW YORK, NY - An Arkansas native now playing in the NFL has nominated his hometown elementary school for a special surprise.

Cedric Thornton of the Philadelphia Eagles has partnered with Athletes for Charity* to nominate Jimmy Brown Elementary School, in Star City, to receive nearly $10,000 worth of brand new books to encourage the students to read more and excel academically.  

A news release from the charity explains that the project is a part of its Youth Literacy Initiative. Every student in the selected school receives a free book for them to keep and take home with them. The books will range from various Cat in the Hat titles to Disney's The Wonderful World of book series and biographies on Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and other notables.  

Athletes for Charity has reached out to the District's Superintendent and the school's Principal to extend the invitation to them. The Mayor of Star City, Paul Carter, has already confirmed that he would be willing to join their hometown sports hero, Cedric, to help distribute the books to every child. There are nearly 850 students attending Jimmy Brown
Elementary School.

Once the event is confirmed by the district and school, Cedric will coordinate his travels from Philadelphia, PA back home to serve as "Principal for a Day" and host grade level assemblies for the students.

According to Thornton's bio on the Philadelphia Eagles website, he grew up in Tarry (Lincoln County) and graduated from Star City High School. He went on to attend Southern Arkansas University before signing with the team in 2011 as a rookie free agent.

*Athletes for Charity is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a charitable initiative dedicated towards encouraging the giving of time, financial resources, and information to improve the collective lives of disadvantaged youth, advance the common good and support the nonprofit sectors that benefit the underprivileged, including foster care children.