In eight years with the Thunder, Kevin Durant never brought a championship to Oklahoma City. But his $57,000 donation to the city’s school for homeless children, Positive Tomorrows, will impact lives far more significantly than any championship could.
Durant’s gift will be used to purchase land to build a new school, according to ESPN.
While any form of charity requires generosity, it’s especially uplifting to know Durant developed a personal connection with Positive Tomorrows over nearly a decade playing in the city. From ESPN:
He had maintained a close relationship with Positive Tomorrows during his time in Oklahoma City. He delivered shoes to children at Christmas, funded a summer break camp program and paid for a new kitchen and cafeteria for the school.
Durant has said the plight of homeless children is close to his heart.
When he won the MVP award in 2014, Durant talked about the hardships of his childhood, moving from apartment to apartment, worried about having clothes on his back and food on the table. He called his mother the real MVP.
One of the best things about the NBA is its superstars often give back to their communities in addition to performing service through NBA Cares. LeBron James has been extremely generous especially within his home state of Ohio. Around Thanksgiving time, he surprised a girls high school basketball team with gear and gave out tiny Nike LeBron Soldier 10s to babies born in Columbus.
Through The LeBron James Family Foundation, he also sponsors a program called the I Promise Institute, which awards scholarships toto the University of Akron to Akron public school students who complete the foundation’s mentoring program.
In July, Inside the NBA analyst Kenny Smith challenged black NBA players to donate 10% of their salary to black communities and their causes. Last month, LeBron and his business partner donated $2.5 million to the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture for a Muhammad Ali exhibit.
Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who has a salary of about $5.7 million, donated $1 million to his grade school in November.
For Thanksgiving, Kings center Demarcus Cousins donated over 300 turkeys to families in need.
The list keeps going and growing, showing that the NBA truly does care.
[ESPN]