"If I don't have to do anything with football -- I'm there," said quarterback Derek Carr. "I'm not doing it trying to show everybody, 'Hey -- Derek's out doing this and that.' I'm trying to do it to help these kids or help whoever it is."
Earlier this week, Carr visited the pee wee football team of Donovan Maldonado, who tragically passed away just one week before.
"You know there's really nothing you can say," said Carr. "But just to have the kids see an athlete out there and see a smile on their face and then that making their parents smile. That's what means the world to me."
Earlier this year, Brown joined Carr to provide some muscle at ABC 30's "Feeding the Hungry" Food Drive.
"It's always just been one of those things that's always on the top of my head," said the Bulldog linebacker, a Clovis West graduate. "I'm always trying to do as much as I can for the community because they do so much for me."
They don't give back because they feel like they have to. These high-character guys have other motives.
"My relationship with God, I'm not going to hide it," said Carr. "I want people to know that. But at the same time I want my life -- the way I act and live -- to be what people see and not just me saying it."
"I just enjoy it," said Brown bluntly. "The feeling I get back after I'm done with a five hour day of community service is better than what I get from winning a football game, really."
And having these public servants on his team, especially his high-profile quarterback, is welcomed by Coach Tim DeRuyter with open arms.
"To me, he's kind of the poster child of what we want all of our athletes to be: Someone who has self-awareness but more importantly community awareness," said DeRuyter.
And up next on the community service schedule: Wins on the football field come Saturdays this fall. These guys know of no better way to make the Red Wave proud.
