As part of the team’s Plays for the Holidays community outreach initiative this holiday season, Golden State Warriors players, coaches and executives joined Levy Cares to host a Thanksgiving dinner for 250 people in need this Holiday season. All 14 Warriors players greeted the families, served them a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed interactive games and activities for all to enjoy.
“Everybody on the team is here, all the players, coaches and a lot of staff members,” said Warriors forward David Lee. “When you sign on to play with an NBA team, whether it’s a coach or a player, it makes you part of that community so it’s good that we could give back and we’re excited to be here for Thanksgiving.”
On Tuesday afternoon, 250 members from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, Youth Chance High School, Embarcadero YMCA, Mission YMCA, Bayview Hunters Point YMCA and Stay Alive & Free and their families arrived at The Village event venue to find a Warriors-decorated dining area waiting for them. Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts welcomed each group to the holiday event before Warriors Hype Man Franco Finn pumped up the crowd before announcing each Warriors player and coach.
“We’re excited to share a holiday meal with kids from throughout the Bay Area and to put on this fun experience for them,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
As the players, coaches and front office staff served the children drinks and salads while wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving, Warriors players Stephen Curry, David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala welcomed each child to a buffet of turkey, stuffing, green beans and gravy.
“You could definitely see the look of excitement and energy in the room when they got to see their favorite players and see their personalities away from the basketball court,” said Assistant Coach Jarron Collins.
After dinner, the youth groups headed downstairs to an interactive gaming center filled with video games, photo booths, board games and a full dessert station manned by Curry.
“There was a real excitement and energy from the kids that really appreciated us being here today,” said Curry. “The smiles on all the kids faces when they came up to talk to us, there’s nothing better than that.”
As Warriors players bonded with the youth over games of foosball, Monopoly and NBA 2K 15, one young child from the Bayview-Hunter’s Point YMCA revealed how much this event meant to him and his mother.
“I just had one kid come up to me and say, “Today is even better than Thanksgiving, because [my mom and I] get to share it with you and your friends,” said Warriors center Festus Ezeli.
This event was the first of the Warriors Plays for the Holidays community outreach initiative, as each Warriors player and coach will participate in at least one additional event this holiday season to brighten the lives of local families and youth in the Bay Area. Before leaving with a Golden State Warriors holiday gift bag, the families received a special message from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
“Enjoy and appreciate the friends, family and community that each of you have, because that is what the Thanksgiving holiday is all about,” said Kerr.
This event was also part of the NBA Cares Season of Giving campaign, where the NBA and its teams and players participate in hundreds of charitable events across the country in an effort to brighten the holidays for thousands of children and families.