The Los Angeles Rams and KABC are teaming up to host a virtual Te’LA’thon, Tuesday, March 24, from 4 a.m. – 7 p.m., to assist Southern California response efforts during this unprecedented global health crisis.

All contributions will benefit the United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ Pandemic Relief Fund in direct support of community partners including Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

The UWGLA’s Pandemic Relief Fund will provide immediate relief to low-income individuals, students and families at imminent risk of homelessness as well as the unsheltered residents across LA County who are experiencing disproportionate hardship due to health and economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19). Relief programs include providing low-income students crucial access to technology for continued academic instruction, supplying medical and hygiene materials to shelters and healthcare providers and working to meet the city’s evolving demand for food assistance.

“Our most vulnerable neighbors, those experiencing homelessness and low-income working families and individuals, will be severely impacted by this pandemic,” said Elise Buik, president and CEO, United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “Those on the streets have little access to information or basic hygiene and healthcare. And for struggling families, any reduction in wages will result in extreme hardships and even homelessness. Now more than ever, we need to come together as a community to address this emergency. We are proud to join KABC and the Los Angeles Rams’ virtual telethon in partnership with Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to make an immediate difference.”

It was also recently announced that Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Jared Goff and offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth each donated $250K as lead gifts to kick off the virtual telethon and to finance a total of 2 million meals for Angelenos in need through the LA Regional Food Bank.

“ABC7 and the Los Angeles Rams have been longtime supporters of our work to provide nutritious food for those in need in our community,” said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. “It is no surprise that they have stepped up to provide much-needed funding during this emergency to help support the hunger relief efforts of the Food Bank and others who are responding to this crisis. We also acknowledge leadership gifts from Jared Goff and Andrew Whitworth, each donating $250,000 to the Food Bank. Each gift will provide 1 million meals to those in need during this crisis.”

The Te’LA’thon kicks off a multi-year partnership between KABC and the Los Angeles Rams, in which KABC will be the official local television partner. As part of this relationship, KABC will provide the Los Angeles market with exclusive telecasts of all Rams preseason games, excluding a contest that will be broadcast by the National Football League’s national television partners. The year-round partnership will also center on the Rams and KABC’s shared commitment to communities across Los Angeles and developing programs to give back to fans and community members.

“This partnership comes at a particularly critical time and now more than ever, it’s so important to bring our community together. As LA’s most trusted local news source, we not only are committed to continuing to provide in-depth coverage on all the latest developments, we are committed to supporting our communities,” stated Cheryl Fair, president and general manager of KABC. “Partnering with the LA Rams to benefit United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ Pandemic Relief Fund and LA Regional Food Bank is both an honor and our duty as community leaders during this time of crisis. We are hopeful that our efforts will also unify LA and all those in our communities during these difficult times.”

Community supporters and fans can tune in to the virtual telethon on ABC-7 throughout the day, starting at 4:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. PST and stay updated on radio at ESPNLA 710 AM or by following #abc7eyewitness on @abc7la on Instagram, @abc7 on Twitter and @abc7 on Facebook.

“At the Los Angeles Rams, we believe it’s important to work alongside community partners such as United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the LA Regional Food Bank to provide support for our city’s most vulnerable during this time,” said Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer, Los Angeles Rams. “We’re also excited to announce our partnership with KABC, who shares our commitment to community and our mission to bring the Rams closer to fans in Los Angeles. We’re proud to kick off our partnership by rallying our community together at a time when we need it most.”

Ways to donate during the Te’LA’thon for Los Angeles include the following:

– Call in at (213) 263-0211 or use a National Toll-Free # at 888-504-9491

– Visit UWGLA’s Pandemic Relief page at www.unitedforla.org/pandemicrelief

– Text “UnitedforLA” to 1-844-701-5181

About United Way of Greater Los Angeles:

United Way of Greater Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization fighting to end poverty by preparing students for high school graduation, college, and the workforce, housing our homeless neighbors, and guiding hard-working families towards economic mobility. United Way identifies the root causes of poverty and works strategically to solve them by building alliances across all sectors, funding targeted programs and advocating for change. For more information, visit UnitedWayLA.org and EveryoneInLA.org.

About Los Angeles Regional Food Bank:

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has been fighting hunger in Los Angeles County since 1973 and has distributed the equivalent of more than 1.2 billion meals across our community. The Food Bank provides food to more than 300,000 clients on a monthly basis and distributed 81.8 million pounds of food and product in 2019 to children, seniors, working families, veterans, and other neighbors in need. To support the vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles, food and products are distributed through a network of more than 600 partner agencies directly to children through our Children’s Backpack and Summer Lunch programs, to approximately 28,000 seniors each month through our Senior Nutrition program, and to working families and college students through our Mobile Food Pantry. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is a 4-star rated charity by Charity Navigator. For more information, visit LAFoodBank.org.

About The Los Angeles Rams:

The Los Angeles Rams – Los Angeles’ original professional sports team – stand as one of the oldest franchises in the National Football League and since its founding in 1937, have garnered three World Championships and sent 30 of its members to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a professional sports team, the organization is committed to be a valuable civic partner and serving the greater Los Angeles area 365 days a year. In 2020, the Rams will play their home games at SoFi Stadium & Hollywood Park, currently under construction in Inglewood, California. For more information visit www.therams.com and follow the Rams’ social media channels.

About KABC Los Angeles:

ABC7 Los Angeles is Southern California’s No. 1 local news and information source. ABC7 is a leader in digital and social audience engagements and was the first station in the Los Angeles market to regularly broadcast news in high definition and also the first local television station in the United States to surpass 2 million Facebook followers. The station’s offices and studio are located in Glendale, California.