Checking in with you Yardbarker!

Want to give you an update on The ESPY Awards this past Wednesday in Los Angeles. I was honored to be there and accept an award for “Best Game” on behalf of my team, joined by my friend and teammate Patrick Willis and an awesome young man, Jimmy Murphy. It means so much to me and the team that our fans showed us so much love last season!

This is me and Jimmy Murphy, a brave and inspirational young person fighting cystic fibrosis. He attended the ESPY’s with his family and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We met on the red carpet minutes before this picture. Doesn’t he have great style?  He gave me a run for my money.  LOL!

Looking forward to spending time with family before pre-season begins.

Til next time.

Hello Yardbarker!!

So far it’s been a truly busy and AMAZING off-season.

First I want to clear something up: When I said "I Will Be The Best Tight End Ever," that was me sharing a personal goal with a group of aspiring student athletes in support of a great program, Sound Mind/Sound Body football academy which mentors them all the way to FULL scholarships at leading colleges and universities. To meet that goal, you have to think of yourself as THE BEST to be the BEST. That's what got me to the NFL and I wish the same for each of them. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here's me and Vontae, and some of the young men at this year's Sound Mind Sound Body mentoring weekend in our hometown, Washington DC. We co-hosted it for our second year and met some promising high school athletes who will be coming to the NFL one day!

What else? This week I made the cover of San Francisco Magazine for their Best of The Bay 2012 issue! It's an honor and I appreciate them for the in-depth story they wrote covering my career, foundation work and business venture with Modern Class Design, my design company.

• I participated in Drew Gooden's Charity Golf Tournament with a bunch of other athletes in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They're a great organization, and I tip my hat to Drew for putting a great day together for everyone.

• I went to the 6th annual Follow Me to the Stars Dinner to support the Moran Norris Foundation. My teammate Moran's foundation supports programs to improve youth dropout, attendance, and conduct issues in Houston through direct community involvement programs.

• Me and a group of other athletes, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and corporate leaders participated in Usher's New Look Foundation's 3rd Annual World Leadership Conference in Atlanta. The program helps groom future leaders through teaching, training and mentoring.

• Last month, The Davis Foundation in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission gave away its annual scholarship to a student artist pursuing a degree in the studio arts at the college level. The award went to Niyjale Cummings, a student sculptor and 2012 graduate of Lowell High School in San Francisco. He will be attending the Academy of Art University in the Fall.

• Earlier that day, I participated in the StreetsmARTs mural painting program at the Bayview YMCA in the Bay area. The San Francisco Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works to try to help reduce vandalism through public art programs that encourage graffitti as art.

Phew!

But I have to ask: Did anybody catch the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April? I was there and had the honor to meet General Colon Powell, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Governor Rick Scott of Florida, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, George Stephanopoulos, David Gregory, the Reverend Al Sharpton, America's weatherman Al Roker, Tom Joyner, Gayle King, Sigourney Weaver, and Holly Robinson Peete.

Here i am on the Red Carpet at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

I also have to give a special shout out and thank you to all of the good folks from the McClatchy News table, especially, Kevin McClatchy (even though he's a Jets fan!), David Lightman and White House correspondent William Douglas, who made it possible for me to be there.

Signing off, until next time!

What's up Yardbarker?

Sometimes, it amazes me how blessed my career has been:  I'm going to the White House Correspondents' Annual Dinner in DC this Saturday!  I’m a guest of Congressional Correspondent William Douglas who writes for McClatchy News Service.  President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be there, and a whole lot of DC power players --- and I'm not talking about the Redskins.  Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the event, so you know it's gonna be funny.

The proceeds from the dinner go to deserving journalists and student journalists for awards and scholarships.  Shout out to Chris Trevino from my alma mater, University of Maryland, who was awarded a scholarship last year!  Tune in to C-Span Saturday night to check it out.

Remember last year's dinner when President Obama was cracking jokes about Donald Trump, meanwhile the Navy Seals were busy taking out Osama Bin Laden? I wonder what he's got in store for us this year.  I'm excited!

I'll check in a little later to let you know how it went…

Until then...

What's up Yardbarker!!!

Haven't checked in for a while, hope everyone's doing GREAT!

It's been a great off-season so far. I had the great honor of introducing President Barack Obama in March at a fundraiser in San Francisco. What an awesome moment that was in my life and what a great leader he is...

CHECK ME OUT!!!

The President asked me to play for the Chicago Bears when we got on stage. Don't worry, I'm not gonna do that to you, San Francisco!!!

Another great honor was meeting Magic Johnson who sat down with me and my business partner, Antone Barnes, to give us insight into running our design company efficiently.  Magic has done it the right way, he’s built an empire and I see why he's so successful. He has a lot of talented people working with him. Big shout out to Mr. Earvin “Magic” Johnson for all the time he took to share his world with us.

As you know, me and my business partner, Antone Barnes launched our design company Modern Class Design (MCD) last year and have a growing list of clients, but we just got a great opportunity to do something that means a lot to both of us: We're doing something called the "Positive Impact Project." It's a redesign of the Multicultural Family Resource Center at the Crescent Park Apartments in the city of Richmond, California. The Mayor of Richmond, Gayle McLaughlin and Mary Murtagh of EAH housing are doing some great things for the folks in their community and we're glad to be a part of that revitalization.

I'm practicing with my team again preparing for next season. Watch out, now!!!!

What else?

Keep your eyes open around the Bay area. Me, Jack Black, Quincy Jones, the cast of “Glee”, Placido Domingo, The Edge, Maria Shriver, Wolfgang Puck, and Frank Gehry are all on a bunch of billboards and bus stop signs in San Francisco and Oakland for a great cause: ARTSPL8. When you get an Arts Plate license plate you help bring Art Education back to California schools. You all know how I feel about art education, so go get a license plate when you renew your registration --- or order one early! Check them out at http://artsplate.org

Also, look for me on an upcoming episode of the Travel Channel's show "Trip Flip" and on ESPN's "E:60"! And Modern Class Design (my design company) is featured in an article in Ebony magazine. Go get your copy!

Thank you to all the good folks that stopped by last Monday to check out the FTM (Free Time Machine) in Union Square and the new Nokia Lumia 900. It's a pretty nice phone, huh?

That’s it until next time, and I’ll try to make it sooner!

I'll catch up with you later!

What’s up Yardbarker!!

Hope all of you have been well. As you all know I’ve been working HARD with my team and winning games! WE’RE 9-1 and still going strong!! 

Tomorrow is a huge game for us in Maryland against the Baltimore Ravens. We’re going to put in work to bring home that W!

Besides going hard on the grid iron, I have been busy with a variety of other projects. Last month I told you about the A.R.T Ambassador Youth Program which benefits Bay Area students. It took place at the 1307 Gallery in the historic Filmore district. Thirteen of my original paintings were unveiled for everyone to see. I was nervous at first to show my work, but I’m happy I did! That’s why I think the A.R.T. Ambassador Youth Program is so great because it encourages kids to follow their passions and pursue their dreams. I want to inspire kids to be themselves and do what they love, even if they’re afraid.

 Speaking of doing what you love, I’m excited for the official launch party of my design business, Modern Class Design, on December 4 in the Bay Area. You all know I was a Studio Art major in college and I’ve always had an eye for great design. I teamed  up with former record business executive Antone Barnes to launch our own design company. So far the company has designed my little brother Vontae’s Miami home as well as Reshad Smith’s home, who also plays for the Miami Dolphins. We just started work on my teammate, Aldon Smith’s home in San Francisco. We’re also in talks to begin urban renewal projects in the Bay Area as well as my hometown of Washington, DC! We officially launch our business Monday so be on the lookout! On December 4, I’ll be hosting the official after party for our business launch at Infusion Lounge with special guests Melanie Fiona and Ryan Leslie! If you’re in the Bay Area check the invitation below and come out!

I also have a new project of my own in the works. I recently joined forces with Akomplice Clothing to create a t-shirt to benefit two of my favorite charities: the Starkey Hearing Foundation and Young Audiences Arts for Learning. The shirts come in both black and white. If you buy a black t-shirt, Akomplice will send one to a needy child in Africa and for every white shirt sold 50% of the proceeds will go to support kids in the arts! I’ll keep you posted when they arrive in stores!  Check on my website vernondavis.tv as it should be available in the next couple weeks!

Enjoy your Turkey Day and be sure to cheer the 49ers on against the Ravens! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Yardbarker!

What’s good!  Hope all of you have been well. How you guys feelin’ about that 49ers nation???  We’re 5:1 and still going strong….I got football on the mind even though it’s the bye week.  LOL.  We’re hoping to keep this winning streak going, so be sure to check out our upcoming game against the Cleveland Browns next Sunday, October 30^th.  Lets get it in fans!!!

Besides the season getting off to a great start, off the field I’ve been keeping it moving too.  I recently teamed up with the 49ers Academy and United Healthcare to build an outdoor fitness zone serving 6^th, 7^th & 8^th grade students in East Palo Alto.  The fitness zone allows up to 28 kids to exercise at one time in the facility.  You know I’m about my workout on and off season, so this was really rewarding for me to be a part of…..encouraging kids to get in shape and stay in shape.  I also encourage any of you reading this blog with grade school aged kids to make sure they stay fit.

As you know, me and my brother Vontae who plays for the Dolphins, made a trip this past summer to Uganda and Rwanda with the organizations Pros for Africa and Starkey Hearing Foundation.  We had an amazing time, I was so inspired by the work we did there that I wasn’t able to get some of the images out of my head.  As most of you know, art helps me get out what I’m feeling and lets me express myself.  I painted an abstract portrait of a lion that I continue to have visions of…the painting for me not only captures the essence of the animal, but the spirit of the African people – tough, resilient and fighters to the end.  Check out the painting below.

This lion painting will be exhibited at an art installation featuring some of my work at a gallery next Friday in San Francisco’s historic Fillmore district.  This event will also highlight an upcoming program The Davis Family Foundation is doing together with the organization Infin8 Sync.  Together we’re launching A.R.T. Ambassador’s Youth Program which will benefit deserving Bay Area students.   I can’t wait to get it going!  You know how I feel about art and this is one way for me to do my part in getting more young people involved.   Infin8 Sync is run by two amazing women who call themselves “the twins” (yes they’re identical twins); their names are Melorra and Melonie Green and they love art as much as I do.  These sisters have been responsible for creating several youth-targeted arts programs here in the Bay Area.  This should be a great partnership and I’m excited about inspiring young people to dream big and go for their passions.

I’ll keep you all posted on how the event goes next week.   In the meantime, I encourage you to find a way to get involved in something you’re passionate about; be it the arts, sports, whatever.

I’ll hit ya’ later!

Vernon

What’s up Yardbarker? Man, May has been a busy month. I’ve been in my home-sweet-home of DC working out with my brother Vontae and spending time with family and friends. Earlier this month me and Vontae teamed up to raise money for the Sound Mind and Sound Body Football Academy fundraiser. We had to wake up so early to do Tv and radio interviews that I felt like I was back in season training. Whew! But it was worth it. We had an phenomenal turn out at the May 3^rd Gala in DC and raised a lot of funds for the football academy which will bring 200 young men from DC area high schools to attend the mentoring weekend at Howard University June 23^rd and 24^th. I want to send a special thanks out to my boy Big Tigger for having me and Vontae on his radio show “Live In the Den” to promote this event. Tig - you’re the man!

Here’s a picture of me and Vontae at City Hall where we received a proclamation and met briefly with the mayor.

I also want to give big thank you to all of the founders of Sound Mind Sound Body who give their hearts and souls to these young guys hoping to go pro. They’re all college grads who’ve made it big time in the business sector, yet they come back to the neighborhood to give back to the kids. Their message is: if you work hard, stay fit and stay in school, the world is yours. The five founders of Sound Body Sound Mind football Academy live in cities throughout the country and all came to DC for the gala event.

Here’s a picture of us at City Hall.

Next month Vontae and I will co-host the two-day football academy June 23^rd and 24^th in DC. We’re going to do it big!

One more highlight of the gala fundraiser was getting the chance to meet world class jazz legend Duke Ellington’s daughter and son, April and Edward Ellington. They’re involved in running the Ellington School of the Arts in DC, a school I wanted to attend when I was a kid.

This is Vontae and I with April and Edward:

Also this month, I just traveled back to my home away from home on the west coast, San Francisco, to do a prodution shoot with Force Factor and to participate in two art events dealing with kids. I awarded a young high school student artist named Sheryl Quock with this year’s Vernon Davis Visual Arts Scholarship. Sheryl’s so talented – she graduated from Lowell High School and is a clothing designer who makes her fashions out of reusable materials – like garbage bags and duct tape. She was accepted to Cornell University for next year. I told you guys I’m serious about my painting, but this young girl’s stuff is so amazing and her drive inspires me so much.

Here’s a picture of me and Sheryl and some of her friends after I presented her with the scholarship at the de Young Museum.

I surprised her when I added a nice little chunk of change to her scholarship. The look on her family’s faces gave me a great feeling.

Also earlier that day, I had the chance to collaborate on a mural with a local Bay area graffiti artist Cameron Moberg and a group of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Clubhouse. I had a ball talking to the kids about their dreams and hearing their ideas about the world. Hilarious!

Here’s a picture of us.

I spent Memorial Day weekend celebrating Vontae’s birthday and catching up with some of my teammates around the league and then back to the grind this week. I’ll be back in touch soon with updates. It’s been a great off-season and summer is just heating up. I’m excited!!

Vernon

What’s up Yardbarker, this is Vernon back at you.  I’m on the East coast where I’m working out hard, staying in shape and doing my thing.

This off-season has been great.  One major high point was a two-week mission trip I made to Africa (specifically Northern Uganda and Rwanda) with my brother, Vontae, and some other NFL players with Pros For Africa and Starkey Hearing Foundation.  Pros For Africa was started two years ago by a few Oklahoma business professionals, Reggie Whitten, Jay Mitchel and Bill Horn – all of them are great guys – and some good brothers from the NFL, Adrian Peterson, Tommie Harris, Roy Williams and Mark Clayton.

It was my first trip to Africa, so I was excited to make the trip.  I felt powerful and ready to help in any way I could.   This picture is what I was feeling like about making a difference in Africa.

But let me tell you what happened the night before I left.  I was packed and ready to go, and then my tooth started killing me!!  So I ended up having an emergency root canal at 6:30am before my 9:30am flight)!!  Yes!  After that I had to hop on the 20-hour flight to Africa -- that was crazy!   Brothers, take care of your teeth, cause that pain was no joke. I’d rather take a hit from Adrian Wilson any day of the week than get another root canal!

(Here’s me in the airport on the way to Africa the morning of our trip after my root canal)
 
But I finally made it to Africa and I’m glad I did.  It was a life changing experience.  We fitted hundreds of hearing aids for kids and adults.  And to see the look on those kids faces when they could hear for the first time was priceless.  It was like giving them the breath of life.  One little girl was so excited she couldn’t stop kicking her feet and clapping her hands.  Here’s a shot of me fitting a hearing aid on one of the children.

We also partnered with Worldvision and the Water 4 Foundation handing out t-shirts and filtration straws so people could have clean drinking water and digging wells.  Another day Vontae, me and a group of players handed out food to 2,500 people through Feed the Children.   Another time, Vontae, me and some other players scrimmaged in a flag football game with a team of deaf soccer players.  Let me tell you, they have some great raw talent over there!
 
The thing that broke my heart the most was seeing little kids, like two and three years old, standing completely by themselves on the side of the road.  Their parents are off getting water or doing something to keep them alive, so they have to take care of themselves.   I thought of my son, Jianni, and how much I protect him…that really hurt.  You realize how much we have in America and it makes you feel humble.

One bright light in Uganda is Sister Rosemary and her St. Monica’s Tailoring School – it’s a cool place and she’s an amazing woman.  Her school helps girls who’ve been victimized by war and the stories I heard from them blew my mind.  I’ve never heard anything like that in my life.  One girl had to kill her sister because the military made her do it.  Another girl walked barefoot back to Rwanda after escaping the Sudan.   Every girl had a story to tell about how they had been hurt, but Sister Rosemary is like an angel over there.  Here’s a picture of me and Vontae with Sister Rosemary.

In Rwanda, we visited a memorial site for those killed in the genocide.  That was deep.   Rwanda is such a beautiful country, we were all glad to see that it’s recovering from its past.  Tourism is big in that country.  We had some fun times over there too.  One day we hiked miles into a national park in Rwanda. There were green rolling hills everywhere and we got to see 15 gorillas from the Kwitonda tribe.  The Silver Backs were huge weighing up to 500 pounds, but they were cool, just chillin’ laying around, eating.  We saw a mom feeding her baby – the youngest gorilla in the group, 3 months old. That was really wild.

It was a great trip and I definitely plan to go back to Africa one day and I encourage everybody who’s able to get involved in a cause that’s bigger than yourself to do it.   It’ll change you for the better.

Later this month, I’m co-hosting a fundraising event with my brother for the Sound Body Sound Mind football academy.  This summer, we’re bringing 200 young men from different high schools around DC to Howard University’s campus for a weekend to show them what the NFL is all about.  Our hope is that some of them will get a chance to live out their dreams of becoming pro players one day.  Some other NFL players will be joining us to teach them drills on speed and agility, and how to be playmakers.  We’ll talk about the importance of getting an education and being real men.  So I’ll keep you posted on this…..

I’ll be in the Bay area to give a scholarship at a gala in May to this young artist Sheryl Quock whose work is off the chain.  I selected her for this year’s Vernon Davis Visual Art Scholarship because when I saw her work it inspired me as a fellow artist.  She’s a budding fashion designer and who knows; maybe we’ll collaborate on a clothing line one day. Check out her work at http://sherylquock.weebly.com/. A big shout out to the DeYoung Museum and the San Francisco Arts Commission who I’m working with on this event!

I’m also going to reach out to kids who grew up in similar circumstances as myself and we’ll be painting a mural in the Tenderloin in San Francisco with some graffiti artists whose work is on point…I’m really looking forward to encouraging kids to pursue a career in art if they love it.  I had to wait for college to figure that out.

Well I’m going to chill since I did a work out earlier this afternoon and just finished talking to ya’ll. I’ll be back in touch soon.

Hope you had a great Easter!

Vernon Davis

Hey Yardbarker, this is your boy Vernon Davis checking in after a long hiatus!  What’s up???

Off-season is underway and I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve got a lot done around the house; had my video and audio guy come out to get my TV and Internet right and met with my designer to make some changes to my closet. I’ve also been spending some time with my younger brother, Vontae, who’s a corner back for the Dolphins - we like to keep it in the family! 

At the beginning of the year, I celebrated my 27th birthday in Miami with family and friends. Vontae went all out for me this year and threw me a big party at a club.  We had fun; everyone had a great time…I know I did!  From there I headed to DC to the freezing cold, but it was great checking in with my close friends and family. Check out a picture of my birthday cake!  It tasted as good as it looked and, yes, I enjoyed a big slice to kick off my 27^th.

Since then I’ve been back and forth to DC and on one of my trips I got a chance to see my son Jianni participate in a fashion show to raise money for Kids at Play, a summer camp in DC.  Even at three, he was up there working it out.  I was so proud of him.  I think he gets it from his daddy!! 

I’ve also been gearing up for an amazing trip to Africa this month. Vontae and I are doing a mission trip to Uganda and Rwanda with PROS FOR AFRICA and the STARKEY HEARING FOUNDATION.  We leave next week with a group of other players including Adrian Peterson, Gerald McCoy, Curtis Lofton, Derrick Morgan, Brody Eldridge and Roy Williams.  I spoke with Mark Clayton about going on the mission last year and he said it was an amazing experience to be a part of changing people’s lives.  This year we’ll be giving out hearing aids provided by STARKEY HEARING FOUNDATION who have helped half a million people hear around the globe.  One of our stops is to help young men on a deaf soccer team.  I can’t wait to see their faces when they finally get a chance to hear for the first time!  We’ll also be digging wells, giving out food, clothes, school shoes to kids and filtration straws so they can drink clean water.  As most of you know, the resources in Africa are so scarce, so a little help goes a long way. 

Vontae and I also spent a minute in Vegas last month for the poker fundraiser, Stand Up For Africa. It was to raise money for the mission. Steve Martin was there with poker legend Phil Hellmuth, Jr. and many of us who are going on the mission and about 300 other people. Look out for my shout outs, pictures and updates from Africa about what we’re doing over there…..we’re also getting geared up for the Sound Body, Sound Mind Football Academy this summer in June at Howard University which is in our hometown of DC.  More details on that front to come. Also, any potential sponsors, private donors we need your support to make it all happen, so please let us know if you wish to participate.

What else? Oh, remember I told you I was making a cameo appearance in the movie “I Fell In Love With A Church Girl,” well it’s done and I went to a private screening in LA to check it out.  The movie is really good.  Ja Rule is the star and Stephen Baldwin and Adrienne Bailon are in it too.  It was great to do my first film and I’ll let you know when it hits theaters.

Aside from that, Vontae and I have been staying in shape by working out with our trainer Myron Flowers. (Big shout out to Myron for keeping us on point in our off season).  I also had a couple of meetings with my personal team, and went to LA for the NBA All-Star weekend which was off the hook.  I did a photo shoot to get some new pictures for upcoming events I’m doing…Here are a few shots… I really liked being shot with Vontae!

Well, alright Yardbarker, I’ll be back in touch soon to let you all know how Africa is going and how I’m spending the rest of my off-season. Stay tuned…

Until Next Time,

Ryan from Yardbarker thinks he can teach me something about blogging:



Thanks again to EA Sports Active 2 for sponsoring these series. Check out the other videos with me and Ryan:

Athlete vs. blogger workout challenge
Step aerobics works for me