Earlier this month, the 49ers Foundation hosted its annual season kickoff event Players for a Purpose on the field at Levi's Stadium, where the players and coaches came out to support the team as it aimed to raise money for the Bay Area communities.
The event was successful, as the Foundation raised a total of $650,000, which is the largest amount ever in the event's four-year history.
Well, where are these funds going?
As in previous years, the funds raised will go towards the Foundation's mission to educate and empower Bay Area youth through collective and innovative community-focused strategies. All 49ers Foundation programs and beneficiaries will be helped by the generosity of the Faithful and team partners, including the Foundation's two direct funded programs: 49ers EDU presented by Chevron and 49ers PREP presented by U.S. Bank.
At the event, 49ers RB Raheem Mostert, who recently was ruled out for the entire season due to knee surgery, gave a powerful keynote address alongside his wife Devon about his path into the NFL.
And we can't forget the 49ers hype man Robbie Gould himself, who encouraged the crowd with persuasion as the foundation sought to raise money.
During the pandemic, the 49ers Foundation had to change its outlook due to the stoppage of in-person programming, prompting it to find other ways to impact the Bay Area youth.
Said the Foundation, "Well, we obviously had to halt all in-person programming. That meant no more field trips to Levi's Stadium, no in-person flag football camps. Despite that challenge, EDU and PREP were still able to impact a huge population of Bay Area youth. Brand new digital offerings, like EDU's digital playbook and PREP's online flag football camps, were able to garner nearly 2 million digital impressions."
As for the next steps for the Foundation, it plans to roll back into in-person events to best impact the children in the Bay Area communities, especially as it is the 49ers Foundation's 30th anniversary.
According to the Foundation, its anniversary will be "highlighted by hitting the amazing milestone of $50 million dollars donated and invested back into Bay Area communities. As we go about this season, we are really excited about getting back to in-person community events. While I'm so proud of our Foundation team for creating such impactful virtual resources, there's nothing quite like having kids in our building on a weekly basis. If people want to participate in our 30th Anniversary season, they can learn more at 49ers.com/30."
Some of the proceeds from the event will go to 49ers-supported beneficiaries around the Bay Area to continue improving the surrounding communities.
Added the Foundation, "Proceeds go towards our two direct programs: 49ers EDU presented by Chevron and 49ers PREP presented by U.S. Bank. We also support several beneficiaries around the Bay Area including the 49ers Academy, the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute, and others. We have educational and fitness programming through EDU and PREP, but we also help enhance our local communities. A great example of that is the new Fitness Zone we just completed in East Palo Alto."
With much already accomplished, the 49ers Foundation will look to build off its progress during the pandemic and continue positively impacting the Bay Area during its 30th anniversary season.
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