It’s crazy to think that the one year anniversary of the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City (OKC) is upon us. Last year, OKC’s star player, the 2014 MVP pledged to donate one million dollars to help with tornado relief for countless residents and their families. You can read our full report here. Last week, he moved us all to tears as he received a well deserved 2014 NBA MVP Award presented by Kia for the first time in his amazing career. I did some thinking and if the NBA considered off the court contributions a bit more in their deciding factor Mr. Durant may have earned the MVP a while ago.
Last May, Kevin Durant tapped Nike to donate $1M in products and sneaker profits to Oklahoma tornado relief. It’s important for him to partner with brands that give back to communities they serve and we love Mr. Durant from that.
In march he joined forces with the Strong and Movement.
From their site:
Strong and kind are two words you don’t see together every day. We’ve teamed up with NBA All-Star Kevin Durant to prove the best way to show strength is to choose kindness. And to play it forward even more, KIND is donating $1 million to the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation to create specialized education and after-school programming for at-risk youth to teach them how to be STRONG & KIND
To date the site boasts nearly 600,000 random acts of kindness pleaded and is committed to the pledge of 5 principles. Durant is hoping to get 1 million people to take the pledge on the website, be sure to visit www.Strongandkind.com to get involved.
Aside from his work with Strong and Kind pledge, he has deeply rooted ties to the DMV area and is laser focused on giving back to his hometown. Last summer, he returned to his hometown in Seat Pleasant, Maryland to present $150,000 donations to three youth programs including: the Seat Pleasant Activity Center, Community Kinship Coalition and the Maryland Jaguars Youth Organization — three organizations that were pivotal to his development and career as an NBA All-Star.
One of his main goals in life is to give back to the homeless, “I want to do is to build a home for the homeless. To help them get back on their feet, teach them life skills and help them get jobs,” says Durant.
He’s a constant figure throughout the NBA Cares Foundation, from school visits, to feeding the hungry to taking single mothers shopping, you can always count on Kevin. And perhaps his sentiments about his mother given the day he earned his first NBA MVP tittle, tell it all, she is the real MVP. This is further proof that all of our children are just a caring adult away from success. We applaud the work of KD not only on the court, but off, he’s a shinning of example of what success is really about.
Check out our gallery of Kevin Durant Giving Back!
