SACRAMENTO — Arik Armstead no longer is a member of the 49ers but that does not mean his commitment to equal opportunity education in the Bay Area is ending.
Over the weekend, the newly signed Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman held his annual "Kick Off For Kids" fundraising gala in downtown Sacramento, hosting over 160 attendees at the Kimpton Sawyer hotel.
The event was considered a success with preliminary numbers showing over $211,000 raised to help fund the Armstead Academic Project which helps the underserved students in the Sacramento and Bay Areas. The organization’s two $25,000 grant funders also confirmed renewals of their donations.
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“The bidding wars definitely got crazy last night,” Armstead told NBC Sports Bay Area. “The star of the show was my first Jags jersey. It went for $12,000, which is probably the highest a jersey has gone at any of my events. It’s one-of-one. I don’t even have one anymore now that I handed mine over to my guy Kevin Hughey who has been supporting us for years.”
Auction items also included game-day packages with the 49ers, Jaguars, winery getaways, jewelry, a private event hosted by artist David Garibaldi, autographed jerseys, football memorabilia and more.
San Francisco 49ers
The event usually includes several of Armstead’s teammates in attendance, but instead this year they attended in spirit, with several autographed jerseys and footballs donated to help raise money in both a silent and live auction.
Items autographed by edge rusher Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel were available for bidding, as well as footballs autographed by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and pass rusher Josh Allen.
The event continued through the weekend with a kids camp at Sacramento City College on Saturday with over 150 campers aged 9-18 going through drills with Armstead on the field as well as a campus tour.
On Monday, the AAP is hosting a career camp in conjunction with Torani at the company’s headquarters in San Leandro, Calif. The partners will be hosting approximately 30 students from the Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) program, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to supporting young people affected by the justice system.