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Jarrod Cooper brings the Raider Nation together to support Code 597

Jarrod Cooper welcomed the Raider Nation to the Oakland Animal Shelter for an event to raise funds and awareness for Coop’s Code 597 program. Ricky Brown and Justin Griffith were also on hand to lend their support to the cause. Gorilla Rilla, Sidewinder, Inferno, Defender, and the rest of the Raider Nation came to show their support for the Oakland Animal Shelter, while Izzy Osbourne and Raiderhed both rocked the crowd.

Code 597 is a project that Coop started to support the Oakland Animal Shelter, and to raise awareness of animal cruelty and proper care of pets. The name was taken from California penal code 597 which is the code that refers to the mistreatment of animals. All of the funds raised by Code 597 go directly to the shelter.

The entire day had the feel of a tailgate as there were several barbeques set up around the grounds outside the shelter as the event got under way. There was a large inflatable slide for the kids to play on. To remind everyone about the cause of the day, there was a pen set up that had two adorable collie-shi tzu mix puppies were up for adoption.

Once most of the attendees had eaten, Gorilla Rilla led the children in a couple of games including a three legged race and a tug-o-war. Meanwhile, Izzy Osbourne, who is a tribute artist to Ozzy Osbourne, finished his sound-check and ripped into “I don’t know” once the tug-o-war ended. Izzy was followed by Raiderhed who got the crowd going with their string of Raider rock out tunes.

There were three lovely Raiderettes on hand who were posing for pictures and signing autographs for the fans. A donation of $20 to the animal shelter was rewarded with a Raiderette swimsuit calendar, which these beautiful specimens would sign, an 8×10 print of Coop, five raffle tickets, and a Code 597 t-shirt. (I won a framed Justin Fargas print in the raffle.)

Coop spent the day shuttling between helping the shelter staff mind the animals and talking with the fans who were present. He also took the time to sign for anyone who would ask.

I was able to ask Ricky Brown if he had something in mind for Chris Carr when the Raiders play the Titans in the preseason, he said, “Even if he is eight yards deep, he is going to try to take one back all the way against us, we just need to be sure to tackle [him].” Not quite as visceral as Coops, “He is going to get JACKED up,” but it does drive the point home that there will be a game within a game between the coverage units and Carr.

A fun day was had by all the attendees of the event, and a good deal of money was raised for the shelter. I would strongly suggest attending the next Code 597 event, as it is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and a very worthy cause. I will close with a message from the one and only Gorilla Rilla, “I don’t talk much, you talk a lot so please get this out, this is what makes the Raider Nation so special. We are like grandma’s quilt, we have black, brown, latino, white, everyone and we all come together in a knot as one. We don’t see the differences, we are the Raider Nation.”

For MORE pictures and VIDEOS from Saturday’s event click Code 597 Event in our header or right here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 3:17 am and is filed under Code 597, Jarrod Cooper, 2008 Offseason. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.