49ers CEO talks passion for Bay Area charities

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Jed York is only in his early 30's, but he is the CEO of the San Francisco 49ers. He was born and raised in a football family. York's passion has always been sports, and he aims to win. But that's not his only labor of love. He's deeply involved in a charity called Tipping Point.

"I think Tipping Point really covers the entire spectrum of trying to end poverty in the Bay Area," York said. "You know, they do the research for you. The fact that every dollar that we raise goes out the door, 100 percent goes to the actual charities."

Tipping Point supports programs that help eliminate poverty in the Bay Area. York told ABC7 News about one program he visited that's supported by Tipping Point. Called Year Up, the program offers young urban adults, ages 18 to 24, a chance to build a future. They're learning business conduct and high tech skills in a one year intensive training program.

"You earn college credits, you earn money while you learn," Year Up graduate Jay Hammond said.

Program graduate Clara Saenzpardo adds, "Nothing is handed to you, you work for everything."

And current Year Up student Alexander Webber says, "What's great about Year Up is they also give you training on how to navigate the corporate environment."

About the program, Year Up's Executive Director Jay Banfield explains, "Students spend 5 months in a classroom, learning all those skills, those hard and soft skills. They then earn an internship with a leading company in the world. And then they spend six months there taking what they learned in the classroom, apply it to a real world setting and earning a job."

Tipping Point founder Daniel Lurie adds, "Our mission is to help children, individuals, men, women, and families escape poverty and Year Up is the perfect example of the type of group we invest in." Lurie says Tipping Point has supported Year Up from the beginning, and notes that York and his wife are committed to helping those in poverty, "I'd rather be involved in something I believe in that's actually proved its results," York said.

York not only came to speak to the students at Year Up, but he's also going to help the program expand. He's on the Silicon Valley launch committee to bring the program to San Jose, "It makes the most sense from a time standpoint and when you look at the results, I don't know that anybody has better measured results than Tipping Point," York said.

York's support of Tipping Point means a lot to them. Lurie is working to bring the Super Bowl to the Bay Area. He's the chairman of the bid committee, which includes former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Mayor Willie Brown and financier Charles Schwab.

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san francisco 49ers, charities, silicon valley, facebook, linkedin, ebay, nfl, cheryl jennings

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