Germany Niners Represent With Class

NEG-January-2016_wGermany – Yesterday NRW Chapter visited the children’s village “Friedensdorf International” to bring toys which have been collected by the first annual toy drive. This village takes care of children from conflict zones in Asia and Africa that would die without medical care or surgery.

Paying it forward

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Fresno_ToysForTots_kids1-wIn 2012 my husband Salvador Hernandez was laid off from work and I was a stay at home mom with no income. After joining The Niner Empire of Fresno we were able to volunteer at The Holy Cross Center.

It was there that we met some very wonderful people. They got to know my husband, myself and my kids and always welcomed us with open arms. After learning that my husband wasn’t working they were concerned about how we were going to provide Christmas presents to our kids since money was tight. Unbeknownst to us they had signed up our kids for gifts from Toys for Tots.

It was such an amazing feeling to know that my kids were not going to experience the pain of not having gifts on Christmas. In the months leading to the next years Christmas (2013) I thought it would be a great experience to give back to someone in need just like it was done for my family. So I proposed the idea of a toy drive to the committee. I’ll admit they weren’t to fond of the idea due to a concern of there not being a good turnout or enough participation from members.

Fresno_ToysForTots_santa_kids1-wBut I went out on a limb & contacted Toys for Tots just to get a general idea of what goes into doing a toy drive. That’s when I met Virginia Cardinal… She’s the Coordinator of Toys for Tots Fresno County. She was excited to work with us & her excitement fueled my desire to keep pushing the idea on the committee. I was able to get 1 committee member on board (Raul Madrigal) and even his wife (Stephanie Madrigal). Together we decided on a date, a location, made a flier & posted it on Facebook to see how many members were interested. To our surprise there were lots!

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Erie Chapter – Family road trip to Cleveland

ERIE, PA – Hello my name is Tara Holmes-Ruiz and I have been a 49ers fan all my life living in Erie, PA. My story starts from a tragedy but brings me to the blessing it is today. taras-brotherMy younger brother Francisco Lasanta was a Die Hard 49ers fan and always had dreams of going to his first Niner game. Unfortunately before he could ever make it to one, he was in a motorcycle accident which took his life at only 32yrs of age.

That was when I decided to honor his memory by keeping his tradition of family football nights alive in our home. I reached out to fellow Niners across the world through social media when my friend and Niner brother Andre all the way from Niner Empire Germany helped me out. He got me connected with Rajeev Prasad and The Niner Empire Organization. After filling out a chapter application everything began falling into place. By the grace of god the NINER EMPIRE ERIE, PA Chapter was born.

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