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OP-ED: LeBron James Gives Kids from Hard Streets a Chance

Published

10 years ago

August 25, 2015

This year in the NBA playoffs, LeBron James silenced all the chatterers who questioned his legacy. He put his team, decimated by injuries, on his back and willed them to the NBA finals.

He showed that he is the greatest basketball player in the game today.

Off the court, LeBron is building an even greater legacy, one that provides a model for athletes and leaders across the country.

This month, while hosting an event for 5,000 students and their parents in his I Promise program at an amusement park, James announced that his foundation was teaming up with the University of Akron to provide a potential scholarship — a full ride of tuition and fees worth $38,000 over four years — to each of the approximately 1,000 students now in the “I Promise” program and to 1,300 more scheduled to be enlisted.

James was raised in Akron by a single mother who struggled to survive. On rising to prominence and wealth, he set up the LeBron James Family Foundation, which has focused on giving back to that community and helping at-risk kids.

James has done more than donate money. He’s devoted time and energy through his foundation to build a remarkable program. And he’s leveraged his stature to enlist other institutions as partners.

The I Promise program seeks to raise the graduation rate in Akron public schools. It sponsors a six-year program that provides mentoring, tutoring and after-school and summer school programs for at-risk youth. JP Morgan Chase provides technology staffers as volunteers to help ensure the kids stay on track for graduation.

The scholarship program is similarly leveraged. The University of Akron guarantees a full scholarship for every student in the I Promise program who graduates from high school with the appropriate grades and test scores for admission.

Akron President Scott Scarborough said the university would join with the foundation to raise funds to support the scholarships. The first wave of students will come in 2021.

“These students have big dreams,” LeBron said, “and I’m happy to do everything I can to help them get there. They’re going to have to earn it, but I’m excited to see what these kids can accomplish knowing that college is in their futures.”

James, who bypassed college to jump directly to the NBA, understands just how important this is. “As a kid growing up in the inner city and a lot of African-American kids, you don’t really think past high school,” he said.

“You don’t really know your future. You hear high school all the time, and you graduate high school and then you never think past that because either it’s not possible or your family’s not financially stable to even be able to support a kid going to college.”

Ohio.com reported on Tracy Griffin, a single mom raising three kids and working two jobs, who was nearly moved to tears by the announcement.

“Just to know I don’t have to worry about that … to suddenly find I’m a parent who doesn’t have to worry about their child’s future, it’s a blessing,” Griffin said. Hugging her daughter Bria, aged 10, she said, “I don’t want her to struggle like I did.”

“I’m so happy,” Bria exclaimed, adding that she wants to be either a veterinarian or a pediatrician.
Michele Campbell, the executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, said James became visibly emotional when discussing the impact the program could have on these kids.

“He has a chance to change their futures,” Campbell said. “Not everybody can be an NBA superstar, so to be able to provide the framework to make your dreams come true is overpowering.”

Many great athletes have difficulty dealing with the wealth and prominence that they suddenly gain at a very young age. We read often about their excesses and their mishaps. LeBron is providing an exemplary model of what can be possible. His focus — on saving at-risk kids growing up in the inner city — is clear.

His core value — that they must work hard to earn what they get — is sound. His commitment — that his foundation will give them the tools, tutors, support and resources to reach their potential — is the game changer.

LeBron has only begun to demonstrate his greatness on the court. And at a remarkably young age, with rare intelligence and grace, he is already creating his legacy off the court.

Thousands of young children growing up on hard streets with the deck stacked against them are being given a real chance because LeBron has decided to be a hero not only on the court but in his community. Too often we hear about those who go wrong. Let’s celebrate LeBron James, who is surely going right.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

11 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.