Marcel Reece joins United Way efforts, set to host meet & greet Tuesday

Originally published on SBReport.net on May 13, 2013

Raiders Pro Bowl fullback Marcel Reece has joined United Way TEAM NFL in an effort to recruit NFL fans as volunteer readers, tutors and mentors.

United Way TEAM NFL is a group of college-educated NFL players that seek to help the organization recruit more than one million volunteers that aim to keep kids on track to graduate high school on time.

Reece becomes a valuable asset to United Way due to the academic problems in the Oakland Unified School District. According to the press release, "reading proficiency in the Oakland Unified School District is just 42 percent, and more than 1 in 4 high school students drop out before graduating."

Reece knows that this number must increase because of how valuable education is in life.

"I was first in my family to graduate from college," Reece said in a press release. "It was important to me to set a good example for my six brothers because I know for a fact that school is a gateway to future success. That's why I was honored that United Way invited me to get involved in this important work."

Research has proven that kids can benefit from the assistance of adults who care about the success of children, and Reece takes pride in working towards United Way's goal of cutting the high school dropout rate in half by 2018.

"Any one of us could be the difference between a kid graduating or not," Reece said. "I want to be part of helping kids reach their potential so I'll be asking the Raider Nation to join my team."

As a kickoff event to his new endeavor, Reece is set to host a meet & greet with fans at the Raider Image location in Oakland. The star fullback is set to sign autographs, as well as participate in a TweetUp from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14. The first 10 fans in line will also receive a United Way "Live United" t-shirt.

Reece will be encouraging attendees to volunteer as part of "United Way Team NFL - Team Reece", where they can help as readers, tutors and mentors.

The Raider Image in Oakland is located at 8450-A Edgewater Drive, just off of Hegenberger.

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