EPA School Receives $5,000 Grant

San Francisco Giant Brandon Crawford and Wells Fargo executives presented checks to recipients of the KNBR Step Up to the Plate for Education grants program funded by Wells Fargo at an event on Tuesday.

Through an open nomination process, schools applied to receive grants and winners were selected. East Palo Alto’s Brentwood Academy received $5,000.

A total of $100,000 in grants were awarded to 26 Bay Area schools to support athletics and education programs. “Providing $100,000 to 26 schools means more students will have access to sports equipment, and arts and academic programs,” said Michael F. Billeci, EVP and president of Wells Fargo’s San Francisco Bay Area region. “Wells Fargo is proud to support our kids because when they have more opportunities to succeed, we all win.”

World champion Brandon Crawford spoke to the grant winners about the importance of working hard in both sports and academics: “I grew up in the Bay Area and am fortunate to play professional baseball here,” said Brandon Crawford. “As a kid, my mother always emphasized the importance of an education—above and beyond participating in sports. So today I pass on that same advice to you. Whether you are fortunate enough to be a professional athlete or not, an education will always take you far.”

In 2013, Wells Fargo was ranked as the No. 1 corporate philanthropist in the Greater Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times for donating more than $23 million to local schools and nonprofits—a total of $6.6 million was directed for education.

--Information provided by Wells Fargo

--image courtesy MLB