After NFL linebacker Aaron Maybin’s playing days were over, the 29-year-old turned all of his attention to art, activism and teaching.

His name hit the headlines this week for a very sad reason. That’s because Matthew A. Henson Elementary, the school Maybin teaches at in Baltimore, is so severely underfunded that classrooms don’t have heat.

The former Buffalo Bill and New York Jet posted a video on his Twitter account on Wednesday depicting young students telling him how cold they are. The caption reads, “This.Is.Unacceptable.”

 

 

Maybin told BaltimoreBrew.com that the temperature in his classroom was about 40 degrees.

“How would your kids concentrate if you sent them to school in a refrigerator for eight hours? With failing lighting. Two classes in one room?” he said. “We tried our best as educators. They tried their best as scholars. But they are dealing with a lot already. And now they are supposed to learn in the dark and in the cold.”

 

 

So, Maybin directed people to a GoFundMe page created by Samierra Jones, a senior at Coppin State University and a graduate of Baltimore City Public School system, who set a fundraising goal of $20,000. At the time of this writing, more than $46,600 has been raised.

“This fund raiser will help in purchasing space heaters and outerwear to assist in keeping these students warm,” she wrote. “To raise $20,000 would be enough to cover the fees of Go fund Me and purchase roughly 600 space heaters, outerwear, and it will cover the processing fee for Go Fund Me.”

Maybin’s school isn’t the only one in the area lacking sufficient heat and electricity. According to the Baltimore Sun,  about 60 schools reported heat and piping-related complaints on Wednesday. The Baltimore Teachers Union requested that the city shut down all schools to get a hold of the situation.

“I implore that you close schools in the District until your facilities crew has had time to properly assess and fix the heating issues within the affected schools in Baltimore City,” Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English wrote in a letter. “This is the best way to ensure the safety of our members and our children.”

Maybin and other Baltimore-based educators are pushing hard for better learning conditions. After all, school is supposed to be one of the the safest places to go.

If you have a few bucks to spare, consider donating to the cause. Or, if you’re local, the school district has organized a winter gear drop off at various locations around the city.