All-star Paul Pierce and other members of the Boston Celtics joined local celebrities and fans at the Rack in Faneuil Hall last night for the eighth annual Rock with Jocks fundraiser to benefit the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Home Team program.
Celtics players played billiards with fans and signed autographs to support the program, which works to create affordable housing and revive Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods.
“We are proud to be part of this effort to provide affordable housing to lower income families in Boston,” said Celtic guard and Home Team spokesman Joseph Forte.
This year was “the best Rock and Jocks fundraiser out of the past eight years,” Forte said.
Celtic Vitaly Potapenko said he felt this year’s event was a successful one, adding he believes the cause is a worthy one.
“The money from sales and the athletes getting together for a good cause is great,” he said.
Both silent and live auctions were held, as well as a raffle of Celtics memorabilia and other items, to benefit the Home Team program.
Items in the silent auction included Pierce and Antoine Walker Celtic jerseys, a Boston Red Sox hat autographed by shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, an autographed photo of the cast of “Friends” and a pair of Walker’s autographed sneakers set at a minimum bid of $125.
All of the auction items were bid on and sold, as some players enjoyed champagne in the VIP area.
Fans were more than eager to participate by bidding in the auction. More than 200 tickets were sold and 400 fans were expected to attend.
Fans formed an audience around pool tables to watch Pierce and newly drafted Celtic Rodney Rodgers play pool. Many fans had hopes of getting memorabilia signed as they surrounded the pool tables with their basketballs and jerseys.
Some fans said they were surprised at how warm and friendly many of the players were. Celtic Tony Battie came right up to people, shook hands with strangers and introduced himself. He also turned down an offer from one fan to buy him a drink.
“I have been a Celtics fan since I was a kid … I used to always go to Celtics games with my dad,” said Jacki McCartney of Boston. “It is a good cause they are supporting, and fans are also interested in seeing the players.”
Though many fans were not completely aware of the Fannie Mae Fund, they learned about the cause and said they were happy to be supporting the program while getting to meet the Celtics.
Pierce seemed to be the most sought-after player of the evening, and he thanked “everyone for coming out for support.”
“The Fannie Mae Foundation is committed to creating affordable housing opportunities across America, and innovative partnerships with organizations like the Boston Celtics help us achieve our goal,” said Fannie Mae CEO Stacey Davis.
In addition to meeting the team, the crowd of Celtics fans heard music from 1980s band Extreme and former Boston members Brad Delp and Sib Hashian. Other celebrities in attendance included KISS-108 DJ Joe Public and JAM’N 94.5 DJ Ramiro.
“You can never be too busy to give back to the community … Fannie Mae is the avenue to give back to the community,” Forte said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
