OAKLAND -- Gearing up to be the last major sports franchise in town, the A’s are making sure residents are not forgotten about this holiday season.
The club wrapped up its “Week of Giving” earlier this month, an event that capped what has been quite the impact within the Oakland community this winter.
The “Week of Giving” took place Dec. 2-6 and featured various A’s players and front office members taking part in activities such as visiting patients at hospitals, reading to children at elementary schools, volunteering at local nursing homes and beautifying parts of downtown with CityTeam Oakland.
“I think these guys know that when the fans come out and provide so much support, they really deserve to get something back,” A’s general manager David Forst said. “It’s nice to have them here.”
The successful week came after a month of November that saw $58,595 donated by the A’s Community Fund. Here are some of the other big numbers from that month:
3,293,300: The number of minutes spent reading in Oakland-area schools.
11,000: Pounds of food sorted at the Alameda County Community Food Bank.
2,000: Number of meals served as part of a special City of Oakland Thanksgiving Dinner.
454: Number of hours that were volunteered.
74: Number of organizations that were supported by the A’s.
The A’s also held an online fundraising competition with the Giants in a Battle of the Bay for a good cause. The two clubs combined to raise $47,282 from Dec. 3-8.
With the NFL’s Oakland Raiders heading to Las Vegas next year after playing their final home game at the Oakland Coliseum last week and the NBA’s Warriors having recently moved across the Bay to San Francisco, the A’s are placing an emphasis on signaling to Oakland residents their commitment to the city where they hope to get a new ballpark built in the first half of this upcoming decade.
“There’s a lot of pride in being the last team in Oakland,” Forst said. “We understand the civic responsibility and that’s why [A’s president] Dave Kaval and his group have made such a point of saying we’re rooted in Oakland. Our ballpark is going to be in Oakland, and we’re happy to stay here.”