LeBron James still doesn’t have a new head coach but that isn’t the main focus of his offseason. On Thursday, he visited his students from the ‘I Promise School’ and offered a big announcement. In a surprise appearance, James brought with him a check for $1 million to build a new gym for the 3rd and 4th grade students who currently attend the school. The money was provided through a grant from the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation.
“It’s an unbelievable day for all of us at the IPS school,” James said according to Fox 8 Cleveland. “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 went on to say that the new gym doesn’t directly relate to sports development, but it’s more of a safe space for kids to interact with teachers and each other.
“I don’t want you guys to think that the gym that we’re putting up is just correlated behind sports,” LeBron added. “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.”
When curtain dropped to reveal LeBron standing in a life-size model of the new gym at his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, the ‘I Promise School’ students erupted in celebration. As streamers dropped from the ceiling, James made his announcement while the children hung on his every word. It’s that personal touch that James has provided that inspires the students so much more than a simple donation. For those reasons and many others, LeBron continues to set the right example for professional athletes when it comes to giving back to his community.
