Now more than 100 days into the NBA lockout, some of the NBA’s biggest players came together yesterday in the spirit of Charity in Miami, FL. The sold-out charity event dubbed the “LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh present the South Florida All-Star Classic” sponsored by 1-800-411-PAIN was organized by the NBA stars to benefit Mary’s Court. Mary’s Court, is a foundation created by hall of famer and FIU basketball coach Isiah Thomas and his wife, dedicated to service to economically disadvantaged parents (primarily single parent households headed by women) and children.
Players participating in the charity game included: Russell Westbrook, Amare Stoudemire, John Wall, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay,Rajon, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and of course the Miami “Big Three”: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh just to name a few. Comedian Kevin Hart also took part in the event in the role of head coach.
While the game was certainly the highlight of the evening, the true light and Reason for the night certainly shined as Mr.Thomas as well as James, Wade and Bosh presented a check during half-time for $50,000 to the FIU the First Generation Scholarship Fund. This Fund provides critical financial aid to students who will be the first generation in their families to earn a college degree. The First Generation Scholarship program was created by the Florida Legislature in 2006 and is the only program of its kind in Florida to match private donations 100 percent. Therefore, Thomas’ $50,000 donation will have a total impact of $100,000 in scholarships.
Additional proceeds from the event went towards Mary’s Court Foundation; a foundation established in honor of Coach Thomas’ mother, the late Mary Thomas.
“Our vision for this foundation is to serve economically disadvantaged youth by facilitating academic pursuits, providing opportunities for character and social development, nutritional and physical health, safety, and encouraging parental involvement,” Thomas said. “We are proud to provide critical scholarship support to students at FIU who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree.”
Kudos to all the players and Mr. Thomas for their support of education, poverty and single parents!
About Mary’s Court Foundation:
Established in 2010, MARY’S COURT is the family foundation of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and his wife, Lynn. As ambassadors of goodwill, Lynn and Isiah have set off on a mission to revive the spirits and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Isiah’s beloved mother, Mary Thomas. MARY’S COURT commemorates the life and legacy of Mary Thomas as a transformational agent of service to economically disadvantaged parents (primarily single parent households headed by women) and children in the communities of Garfield Park and Lawndale on Chicago’s Westside. MARY’S COURT seeks to reorder the mindset of humanity with an understanding that life – at every station – is about giving, and giving is about receiving the blessing to give more. MARY’S COURT will work in close proximity to Chicago Public Schools Area 7 and will support the Chicago Public Schools (Beidler, Calhoun Cather, Dett, Erickson, Frazier and Kellman) for the purposes of youth academic success, increased school attendance and higher graduation rates, character and social development, nutritional and physical health, safety, and parental involvement. MARY’S COURT seeks to create a transformative model for school and community partnership and development, and to create a successful model as a best practice for other communities to replicate.
