LeBron James may no longer be a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he is most certainly still a part of Cleveland.
On Thursday afternoon, James surprised his I Promise School with a check for $1 million to build a brand new gym for the school. The money was funded by a grant from the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation.
“It’s an unbelievable day for all of us at the IPS school,” James said. “Everyone here that has anything to do with the Dick’s Foundation we just want to say ‘thank you.’ We didn’t set out to have donations like this. We didn’t set out for recognition. We just set out to do something great for our kids.”
James added that his own success at school started in the gym and that he wanted the school’s students to be able to have fun with their friends and fellow classmates.
“I don’t want you guys to think that the gym that we’re putting up is just correlated behind sports,” he said. “It’s also another safe place for our kids. Another place where our faculty members and our teachers and everyone associated the place can still have hands on with our kids.
“The word sport is definitely a huge thing because it’s basically where I come from. I understand we preach education everyday day and we’re going to continue to preach education every day because it means so much not only where you are today, but going on for the rest of your life.
“The word sport and sports in general can help you get to so many different places in life just because of the camaraderie and brotherhood and sisterhood that you encounter throughout playing sports.”
While James is no longer on the Cavs, it’s wonderful to see that much of his heart is still where it all began for him, both on the court and off of it.
