The Charitable Side of the NBA's Biggest Free Agency Names
NBA free agency is at a fever pitch, headlined by LeBron James. With the free-agent market officially opening for business at 12:01 a.m. EST on July 1, basketball fans have been devouring all the various rumors of where the big-name free agents will end up. The amount of scenarios is enough to make your head hurt.
One of the factors that's going to influence where these marquee players end up is, of course, money. We live in a capitalist society, so it's hard to blame them for that. But, as it happens, we at Tonic have no problem with that, because many of these players also happen to be very charitable individuals. That's why we decided to highlight some of these high-profile free agents and how they give back.
LeBron James — "King James" started the LeBron James Family Foundation in 2004, one that aims to help children and single-parent households, targeting issues like education, health and physical fitness. Among the ways he's given back include treating hundreds of Cleveland residents to Thanksgiving dinner and participating in a bike-a-thon that raised $150,000. Dwyane Wade — D-Wade's Wade's World Foundation has been around since 2003, helping community-based organizations that assist kids in at-risk situations. Among Wade's "assists" are writing a $25,000 check to save a Chicago-area library and buying his mother, who's a pastor, her own church. Chris Bosh — The 26-year-old power forward established his Chris Bosh Foundation in 2004, aiming to help young people reach their educational and athletic goals. His contributions have included a $75,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Amar'e Stoudemire — The long-time Suns power forward started the Each One Teach One Foundation in 2003, with the aim of helping "each child thrive and achieve goals well beyond even their own expectations." Stoudemire has helped enable a Senegalese boy to have surgery on an injured foot, one he couldn't get in Senegal, and went to Sierra Leone to assist with the rehabilitation of water wells.
Joe Johnson — The All-Star guard for the Hawks is involved in the community. He's hosted four "J.J.'s Santa-Lanta for Kids," an event for youngsters from the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, and has not only purchased Hawks game tickets for underprivileged children the past four seasons, but has also donated $10,000 to provide students at Arkansas-area schools with letter jackets. Dirk Nowitzki — The power forward from Germany established the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation in 2001, to "help provide education, health and well being for children around the world," providing grants to various organizations. He's also active at charity events, including serving as auctioneer to see who would go on a "date" with him, with the $10,000 raised going to the Seeds Foundation, which provides schooling for Senegalese children. Paul Pierce — The Celtics forward started The Truth Fund in 2002, which helps underprivileged children in the Greater Boston area and Inglewod, Calif. In an amazing display of giving back, Pierce pledged $2.5 million to Tufts University's teaching hospital, where he had his life saved back in 2000 following an attack. Read more Good Sports.
Photos of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade by Keith Allison via Flickr.
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