49ers, Google announce $2.5 million grant for National Center for Youth Law

The San Francisco 49ers joined Google on Monday in awarding a $2.35 million grant to the National Center for Youth Law. The grant was announced Monday evening at Levi’s Stadium and will support the Santa Clara Youth Justice Initiative.

The initiative works to reform the way the county interacts with young people who end up in the juvenile justice system. The money is expected to go to, “the healthy development of ~1,000 young people as an alternative to system involvement through therapeutic, educational, and career support.”

Jail often serves to harden individuals, creating high rates of recidivism. This grant, and others like it, are intended to intervene before it’s too late, and hopefully cut down on that recidivism at an early age.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting this grant is a split of $2.1 million from Google and $250,000 from the 49ers. Additionally, they’re reporting the 49ers $250,000 grant is part of the social justice initiative created by the NFL in response to player protests. According to the Mercury News, Richard Sherman, Joe Staley, Earl Mitchell, Robbie Gould, and Pierre Garçon comprised a committee that helped decide where the money would be donated.

Here’s some video from the Monday evening event.