Just as football season kicked off, so did the start of the school year. San Francisco 49ers linebacker Curtis Robinson had a hand in uplifting the Bay Area community to start the school season on the right foot by personally donating $5,000 to local nonprofit education organizations.
At a recent event at the Levi's® store in Westfield Valley Fair mall, 49ers players Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Robinson, Levi's® and Visa partnered to take 14 local teachers from the African American Female Excellence program and Urban Ed Academy shopping for new Levi's® gear to kick off the new school year. At the event, Robinson surprised the group with his generous donation.
Robinson's connection to education is deeply personal. With a mother who is a professor, he has seen the hard work educators put in, often without recognition. "I know how hard it is to be a teacher, especially in low-income communities," Robinson said. "It's important to give back and help teachers get started with the school year."
The nonprofit groups represented at the event have a special connection to the 49ers organization. The African American Female Excellence program is a 49ers Foundation Legacy partner that focuses on uplifting Black girls in the Oakland Unified School District, serving over 300 girls with specialized classes and support groups. The Urban Ed Academy is one of the team's Social Justice grant partners that's dedicated to increasing Black male teacher representation in San Francisco, ensuring that every student has at least one Black male teacher before sixth grade.
"I grew up understanding how hard you have to work as an educator and how much work goes on behind the scenes that may not be appreciated by everybody," Robinson said. "It's always really important for me to be able to give back. This is something I've always wanted to do. I just want to be an impacting factor that can help boost their back to school efforts.
"I know students might not always have the resources at home. So whatever these organizations can do to help them out with these resources is what I want to do."
"It's great to see Curtis coming out here and giving back to the community," Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles added. "He's always been a one of those guys that always thought about giving back, and it's always been important to him. So, I'm happy to see him be able to host an event like this."
