Raiders celebrate first California We Day

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on March 29, 2014

The Oakland Raiders helped participate in the first ever We Day California on Thursday at Oracle Arena, celebrating youth’s participation and commitment to serving the community.

In attendance was Raiders fullback Marcel Reece, cornerback Taiwan Jones, wide receiver Rod Streater, punter Marquette King and long snapper Jon Condo.

Kids could only earn a ticket through participation in a community service tactic that helps the community on a local or global scale. The event was put together by the Free the Children organization, aiming to get kids into community service such as raising money for schools around the world, providing fresh cleaning water, etc.

Though it was the first We Day in California, We Days have occurred in places like Canada, the UK and Seattle.

The event had a participation of 16,000 kids, according to Free the Children co-founder Craig Kielburger. The event also brought together celebrities, philanthropists, athletes and actors into the same building to address the kids. In attendance were the aforementioned Raiders players, one 49er’s player, Magic Johnson, actors Seth Rogan and Martin Sheen.

Johnson is a We Day co-chair and has always been a proponent of getting students inspired and motivated to making the community a better place.

The Raiders players in attendance took the stage in front of the 16,000 young fans and addressed them, thanking them and rewarding them for their work done in the community.

“It’s amazing. It’s fun for us,” Reece said to Rebecca Corman of Raiders.com. “We’re not out here playing football; we’re out here as men and we’re inspired by these kids. It means a lot to us. Today is not just about giving back but rewarding them for what they’ve done.”

Streater felt just as honored to be in attendance at California’s first-ever We Day.

“It was an honor to be on stage at We Day,” Streater said to Rebecca Corman of Raiders.com. “I take pride in giving back to the community. To see so many people there who have given back to the community too is amazing.”


We Day California hopes that by showing the students they are not alone in giving back to the community, they’ll continue to move forward in their quest to make the world a better place.