For his creation of the I PROMISE SCHOOL, which opened July 30, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been given the Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente, the NBA announced Thursday:
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has received the Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his efforts to create the I PROMISE School and provide lasting educational resources for youth and families in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the NBA announced today. This is the second year of the offseason honor since the program’s inception in 2001. The award recognizes an NBA player for his exceptional work and its impact from the end of the regular season to the start of the following season.
Kaiser Permanente and the NBA are honoring James for his commitment to creating long-term, generational change throughout Northeast Ohio by providing both youth and their parents with year-round educational and wellness resources. James and the LeBron James Family Foundation opened the I PROMISE School on July 30 and welcomed its first class of more than 240 third- and fourth-grade students. Designed to help kids navigate many of the challenges James and his family faced during his youth, the school provides meals, busing, supplies, bikes, uniforms and an innovative curriculum focused on STEM studies, social-emotional support and experiential learning. For students’ parents and families, the school’s onsite Family Resource Center offers job placement services, GED classes, legal support, counseling, a food pantry and other vital resources.
The I PROMISE School, opened in partnership with Akron Public Schools, is part of the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I PROMISE program, which began providing support and mentorship services to Akron youth in 2011 to improve graduation rates. The program now serves more than 1,300 students. Since 2015, the I PROMISE program has partnered with the University of Akron to guarantee four-year college scholarships to all eligible students who graduate from high school. The I PROMISE School will gradually add grade levels each year until it reaches full capacity of first through eighth grades by 2022.
James, who will turn 34 in December, signed a four-year contract with the Lakers this offseason. Thus far, the team is 1-3, and James over those four games has averaged 25.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and just 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
