Arturo Hilario
El Observador
It was an hour before a special event commenced on Wednesday August 27 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and you could already notice a sea of red and gold at the entrance to the home of the San Francisco 49ers.
This wasn’t a preseason football game but an annual fundraiser which attracted nearly 700 of “The Faithful”, the nickname associated with the team’s fanbase, to the headquarters of the beloved Bay Area sports team.
Here they were, for the “Players for a Purpose” silent charity auction and dinner, dressed in red button ups, red dresses, and gold jackets, and ready for a night of fun and fundraising along with a distinguished guest list and surprises.
As attendees crossed the bridge from the parking lot to the stadium, they received a warm welcome from beneficiaries of the 49ers Foundation, as well as cheerleaders from the team, musicians, and even a legend of the NFL and the Niners, Jerry Rice.
Rice, who is seen as the undisputed greatest wide receiver in NFL history, was taking selfies with attendees, welcoming them to the event with a smile and giving fans in attendance an incredible opportunity to chat with a living legend of the sport face to face.
The reception started with a “Block Party” themed row meant to highlight the various organizations and communities that are beneficiaries of the 49ers Foundation.
49ers legend Bryant Young gave the keynote address at the 8th annual “Players for a Purpose” fundraiser event hosted at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday August 27, 2025. Photo Credit: Kym Fortino / San Francisco 49ers
They included street signs on the concourse with cities that the organization has a presence in, including the South Bay, East Bay, and San Francisco, as well as 49ers EDU and 49ers PREP arms of the 49ers Foundation.
The biggest event of the night would be the dinner and silent auction, where each table would be accompanied by players of the full 2025-2026 roster in their first appearance, (which had just been finalized Tuesday August 26), in a setting like no other: the field of Levi’s Stadium.
A “Block Party” at Levi’s Stadium
Representation at the block party from across the Bay Area was plentiful, from Oakland there was AAFE, the African-American Female Excellence Program, from East Palo Alto, City Year, in Santa Clara was the STEM Leadership Institute, and one of the newest beneficiary organizations to come into the fold, 826 Valencia, who was added to the 49ers beneficiary network in December 2024.
Bita Nazarian, the Executive Director of 826 Valencia in San Francisco, was excited for the organization to make its public debut with fans as a beneficiary at this event, having a table on the block party with information on their educational organization, which helps more than 7200 students aged 6-18 use writing as a means of enhancing their skills and confidence.
Nazarian says, “We are so grateful to the 49ers Foundation and being their San Francisco beneficiary because beyond the dollars, they give big to us financially, which, of course, helps us run our program. They also really believe in a true partnership and helping to think of ways where they could elevate our work for the broader public, like this event today. That’s tremendous”.
Nazarian adds that the general operating support the funding from the 49ers Foundation provides allows 826 Valencia’s educational programs and goals to be attainable.
“It funds all our core programs with our young people. Currently, we have a $25 million campaign. We’re expanding our elementary programs and our leadership programs. We have a workforce development program to support people who want to become teachers. And we have a literacy coalition that we’re doing. All their funding helps us make sure that strategic plan comes to fruit.”
Niners Worldwide
The team and foundation have been attached to the world stage for decades, first playing in Mexico City over 20 years ago, and more recently playing in London. Earlier this summer the 49ers became the first NFL team to activate in the United Arab Emirates, hosting a flag football coaching sessions and youth flag football clinic in Dubai.
So officially expanding into these markets with their foundation was seen as a natural progression by Justin Prettyman, Vice President of Philanthropy with the 49ers.
“We’ve experienced a great deal of success and a great deal of learning in the process. So even starting here, when we started expanding our reach into Oakland, one of the things I’m most proud about this organization for is that we didn’t go in with a marketing campaign. We didn’t go in trying to sell tickets or anything like that. We went in listening, and we went in meeting with community members and finding out what the needs of the community were.”
Prettyman adds that the process has been similar in starting up in their new global locations, working with partners to understand the needs of the specific communities before they set up shop there. “We’re not here to come in and say, ‘This is what we’re bringing you, and this is the impact we’re going to make.’
“We’re going to first listen and find out what the needs are. And then what we have seen is that the power of football has the power to unite and really bring communities together. So that’s what we hope to lean into.”
For fans in attendance of the “Players for a Purpose” event, getting to spend quality time with their fellow fans, and the players on the actual field was a prize. And for the organizations that were present, it’s a moment to reflect on the importance these collaborations make to the communities they serve and help.
This was a kickoff to the 49ers Foundation’s global expansion, and a touchdown for the nonprofits in the Bay Area and now, across the world.
