Raiders’ Clelin Ferrell helping coronavirus efforts in hometown

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating angst and hardship across the country, Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell wants to help out his hometown.

Ferrell is pledging $100,000 to two relief efforts in Richmond, Virginia, both of which provide protection and resources to families who have been hard-hit by the coronavirus.

Of the money Ferrell is donating, $50,000 will go to the Eviction Diversion Program, founded in 2019 by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to help tenants avoid eviction while ensuring landlords receive any back rent they are owed through payment plans.

Another $50,000 is earmarked for Richmond’s Family Crisis Fund, which was recently created by the Robins Foundation and the City of Richmond through matching $500,000 contributions to provide one-time grants to families that have experienced income loss due to COVID-19.

“Knowing who I am means knowing how much my hometown, Richmond, Va., means to me,” Ferrell said in a statement. “There’s something special about the people from this city and how we are built. For a long time, we have had one of the highest eviction rates in the country. People are losing their jobs because of the crisis, so I am donating $100,000 to the Family Crisis Fund and the Eviction Diversion Program to help the communities that made me who I am. I love y’all and stay strong, stay safe and always stay Richmond!”

Added Mayor Stoney: “Clelin embodies everything I love about Richmond: its strength, its resilience and its sense of community. His contribution will help hundreds of families, as well as our city as a whole, emerge from this crisis safe and supported.”

Ferrell was a Richmond standout at Benedictine High School before moving on to Clemson.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.