Before their final preseason game against the Texans, the Los Angeles Rams hosted their annual Kickoff for Charity brunch, presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union. All the proceeds from the event benefited the Los Angeles community through the Rams Foundation.
"This is what the Los Angeles Rams are all about," said Molly Higgins, Rams Executive Vice President of Community Impact and Engagement. "I'm blessed to have Mr. Kroenke's faith to really use our platform to the fullest and max out the impact we have on the community."
The unique event allowed partners and fans to sit at tables alongside President Kevin Demoff, Head Coach Sean McVay, current Rams players and Legends. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to bid on unique auction items including a suite to a 2024 home game at SoFi Stadium, a road trip on the team charter and Super Bowl LIX tickets.
"It's great for our fans, our partners, and our community to see these guys with their helmets off and get a chance to have breakfast with them and really be inspired by their stories," said Demoff.
Take a look through photos of Los Angeles Rams players, coaches, staff & mascot Rampage at the 2024 Kickoff for Charity presented by UNIFY.
One of the individuals who won suite tickets to a home game, Janet Teague of the Teague Foundation, discussed just how important Rams community efforts are and what makes the annual charity brunch so special. "I think it's so important to support the Rams who are trying to help the youth. It's just wonderful," said Teague.
On top of the silent and live auctions, fans and partners got to witness a keynote address by McVay as he shared his philosophy on building a sustained winning culture and provided a glimpse of what his team speeches are all about.
"It kind of gets me going too," said Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner. "I'm ready to play football and we're about to go on a plane. McVay is just that type of impassioned speaker."
Watts natives, Meryland Gonzalez and Evan Williams joined the event as emcees. Gonzales just started her freshman year at University California-Berkley and in 2020, the Rams, Operation Progress and Pepsi partnered on The Concrete Rose, The Story of Olympic Hopeful Meryland Gonzalez, which told the story of how she broke barriers to work toward her dreams of being a professional boxer. Williams was a former member of the Watts Rams youth football program. Both individuals grew up in Watts and have been positively impacted by the Rams community efforts.
The Los Angeles Rams Foundation aims to inspire change with a focus on providing access and opportunity, driving equity and fighting for equality for all Angelenos. Through a variety of charitable partnerships and initiatives, the Rams work to address social justice issues including education inequities, housing and food insecurities, community-police relations, youth justice and mentorship.
For more information about the Rams' community outreach efforts, visit www.therams.com/community.
