Prior to putting their game faces on and stepping onto the rough-and-tumble Gridiron, San Francisco 49ers players, along with Owner Dr. John York, President/CEO Jed York, Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, General Manager Trent Baalke and Silicon Valley executives were donning aprons, serving as celebrity waiters for nearly 1,000 guests at the fifth annual Pasta Bowl at the Santa Clara Convention Center on August 9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
Laughing, mingling and smiling widely with attendees, players seemed to be having as much fun as event patrons, getting a well-deserved break from the practice fields at the family-style charity dinner, presented by Sandisk in cooperation with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Sold out for the fifth consecutive year, raising more than $100,000 for the San Francisco 49ers Foundation in support of City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley and Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), the 49ers Foundation presented both organizations with checks for $50,000 at the event.
Kicking off the evening was a premier wine tasting reception with 15 vintners from the Napa Valley and Sonoma region sponsored by U.S. Bank, a beer garden hosted by Bud Light and Gordon Biersch, hors d’oeuvres, a Wall-of-Wine auction, youth activities including a pizza making station, Sourdough Sam, Gold Rush Cheerleaders, raffle prizes, and photo opportunities.
“I just wanted to say how excited we are as a team and honored to be here tonight to be representing the organization out in the community,” Harbaugh said. “I think nobody does it better than the San Francisco 49ers, in terms of getting out in the community.”
“We are proud to be 49ers ourselves. I’ve heard a lot about the Pasta Bowl and I’m glad I got the chance to experience it tonight. On behalf of all our players, coaches and everybody at the 49ers organization, we look forward to winning for you this year.”
The event wound down with a performance from the 49ers Gold Rush, and a pizza tossing demonstration and a hands-on lesson from Tony Gemignani.
Event sponsors included Presenting Sponsor, SanDisk; Reception Sponsor, U.S. Bank; Championship Sponsors AdvanTel and Visa; Pro Bowl Sponsors Avnet, Devcon, FedEx, HNTB/Winzler & Kelly/WSP Falck & Kurtz, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara/San Jose, See’s Candies, Splice Communications, Turner Construction Company; and Table Sponsors 95.7FM The Game, Brocade, Centerplate, ETM Electromatic, Franklin Templeton, Gordon Biersch, HP, M. E. Fox & Company, Mission West Properties, Nelson Staffing, Rambus, San Francisco 49ers, Santa Clara Convention Center, SunPower, SVB Financial Group, and Wells Fargo. Vintners who donated their time and their wine to the event included Baldacci Family Vineyards, Brochelle Vineyards, Broman Cellars, Chappellet, David Family Wines, Frank Family Vineyards, Gargiulo Vineyards, Juslyn Vineyards, Martinelli Winery, Meander, Merry Edwards, Morlet Family Vineyards, Schweiger Vineyards, Terra Valentine, and Titus Vineyards. Product donors included American Airlines, Bud Light, Coca-Cola, Gordon Biersch, Gallo Family Vineyards, HP, M.E. Fox, SanDisk, See’s Candies, Sonoma Tanning and Sprinkles Cupcakes.
Beneficiaries of the 5th Annual Pasta Bowl
City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley is a dedicated volunteer corps serving children in school classrooms and in after school programs, inspiring youth to make positive choices, leading volunteers into transformative service and developing leadership skills.
Fresh Lifelines for Youth helps troubled teens learn to make healthy decisions, providing at-risk and disadvantaged youth with vital information regarding the decisions they make in their lives.
The 49ers Foundation is the non-profit community funding extension of the San Francisco 49ers. Now in its 19th year, the 49ers Foundation supports development programs for underserved youth that keep them safe, on track and in school. A significant portion of the foundation’s funding goes toward family violence prevention programs and activities that teach youth leadership and respect. Over the past seven years, the Foundation has donated $10 million to local non-profit organizations. Visit http://www.49ers.com/community/foundation.html for more information on the 49ers Foundation.