The San Francisco 49ers Foundation and Hedge Funds Care hosted the 10th Annual West Coast “Open Your Heart to the Children Benefit” at The Bently Reserve in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 13th.
The event raised funds to address the prevention and treatment of child abuse in the Bay Area.
49ers Owner John York, President Jed York, Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, Chief Operating Officer Paraag Marathe and alumni Guy McIntyre, Keena Turner, Steve Bono, J.J. Stokes, Dennis Brown, Bill Ring and Dave Fiore all attended the benefit to lend their support for the cause.
“The mission of the 49ers Foundation is to keep kids Safe, On Track and In School and safe comes first,” said John York. “This entire event uses money to stop child abuse and domestic violence. While there are thousands of very good causes, I don’t think there is anything that seems to be more apparent than child abuse and being able to stop that.
“It’s different than other things that afflict children; it’s not something that gets talked about… This is something that is hidden and needs to be brought to the public.”
During the event, York, Harbaugh and Co-Chairs of the West Coast Hedge Funds Care Executive Committee, Elisabeth MacKnight and Todd Goldman, spoke to the audience about the importance of the night and thanked all for their support for the cause.
With this being Harbaugh’s first Hedge Fund Care event (Harbaugh joined the 49ers this off-season on Jan. 7), the coach was very impressed by the turnout and effort to help the community.
“I’m blown away by the cause and what people are trying to do in our community in terms of eliminating child abuse and treating victims,” said Harbaugh. “I’m excited and honored to be here.”
“The York Family is really leading the way. The 49ers Foundation, as I’m coming to find out, I’m new to the organization, is doing great things. In partnering with Hedge Funds Care – that is two great organizations getting together making a difference.”
Money from the event was raised through ticket sales, raffles, and a silent auction. Last year’s event raised over $600,000 and this year reached over $700,000 for those in need.
Erika Dirske, a case supervisor at San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates, one of the beneficiaries of the event, expressed her gratitude to both the 49ers Foundation and Hedge Funds Care for hosting this event each and every year.
“The 49ers presence provides us with a lot of visibility and the resources the 49ers contribute to this make us better known in the community and allow us to deliver services to these kids,” said Dirske. “I don’t know where we’d be without the 49ers and Hedge Funds Care so we are very appreciative to be a part of Hedge Funds Care and the 49ers Foundation for the last 10 years.”
Hedge Funds Care is an industry alliance formed in 1998 with the sole mission of raising funds to prevent and treat child abuse. To date, the group has distributed over $24 million internationally through local agencies. In addition to the dinner in San Francisco, Hedge Funds Care also holds events in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, London, Toronto, Cayman Islands, and New York.
Now in its 19th year, under the direction of Denise and John York, the 49ers Foundation has raised and distributed over $10 million to non-profit organizations in the Bay Area over the last seven years. In 2010 alone, the Foundation distributed over $1.8 million to organizations including Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), 49ers Academy and the Bay View Hunter’s Point YMCA, among others.