{"id":3376,"date":"2018-02-23T15:24:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T20:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=3376"},"modified":"2018-02-23T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T20:24:16","slug":"charitable-lebron-james-just-shut-dribbled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2018\/02\/charitable-lebron-james-just-shut-dribbled.html","title":{"rendered":"What if Charitable LeBron James \u201cJust Shut Up and Dribbled?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"31915296404_afb8e15c44_b\"<\/a>When a sports interview got political, Laura Ingraham suggested that LeBron James should \u201cjust shut up and dribble.\u201d Ingraham has told celebrities to stay out of politics before, and she is one of the most vocal in a growing movement that believes the political opinions of singers, actresses and sports stars are given undue weight despite their lack of expertise. The backlash on social media was swift and vicious, but Michele Campbell, the executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, decided to consider what the world would look like if LeBron had followed Ingraham\u2019s advice. \u201cWithout LeBron James outside of basketball\u2026we would have had children who dropped out of school,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cWe have 1,200 kids who are behind in school, but because of LeBron James they are catching up and believe they belong on a college campus and believe they can be educated. They believe they can be anything. If it was just basketball for [James], what a waste that would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

James is responsible for the creation of the I Promise program that serves 1,200 at-risk Akron students between 3rd<\/sup> and 9th<\/sup> grade. There is also an I Promise, Too program that helps parents get their GED. I Promise, Too has nearly 40 parents currently enrolled. The I Promise program also has $41 million earmarked for full-ride scholarships for Akron public school students who choose to attend the University of Akron.<\/p>\n

In addition to scholarships, the I Promise program is opening its own school. There are expected to be 120 third graders and 120 fourth graders in attendance. The school is slated to be open to students from grades one through eight by 2022.<\/p>\n

James also enlists the help of older student mentors to work with the younger children in his I Promise program. These students, called the 330 Ambassadors, have also been giving back to their communities. The Ambassadors traveled from Akon to Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend where they spent time doing community service. \u201cFor them to be in the communities giving back to Los Angeles and make a difference, it means everything,\u201d James said. \u201cI want them to experience this with me. My foundation is a part of my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

LeBron James began his charity with a bike-a-thon in 2005. The goal was to get kids more involved in school. As James grew in fame and wealth, he realized that he could make an even bigger difference, though he did not imagine quiet how large the foundation would grow to become. \u201cDid I ever envision it would get to this point? No, I didn\u2019t,\u201d James said. \u201cBut we never had a ceiling. We don\u2019t have a roof now. There\u2019s too many kids, too many places that need our help. We\u2019re not going to be able to hit them all. WE know that. It\u2019s impossible. But we\u2019re going to hit as many as we can. We\u2019re going to continue to do innovative things. That\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n

James has made it clear he does not intend to stay purely on the basketball court, instead, he intends to continue his charitable work, even when his career ends. \u201cI knew early on that [the foundation] was going to be bigger than me,\u201d he said. \u201cMy foundation, they\u2019re going to carry this on longer than I can. That\u2019s why I do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the success his foundation has already had, one can only hope it continues to keep up the good work even when James eventually leaves the dribbling behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a sports interview got political, Laura Ingraham suggested that LeBron James should \u201cjust shut up and dribble.\u201d Ingraham has told celebrities to stay out of politics before, and she is one of the most vocal in a growing movement that believes the political opinions of singers, actresses and sports stars are given undue weight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":616,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,18,607],"tags":[71,787],"class_list":["post-3376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-good-deeds","category-inspiring-celebrities","category-people-who-do-good","tag-charity","tag-lebron-james"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat if Charitable LeBron James \u201cJust Shut Up and Dribbled?\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LeBron James was recently told to stay out of politics and \u201cshut up and dribble.\u201d But what would his charities look like if he did just that?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What if Charitable LeBron James \u201cJust Shut Up and Dribbled?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LeBron James was recently told to stay out of politics and \u201cshut up and dribble.\u201d But what would his charities look like if he did just that?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2018\/02\/charitable-lebron-james-just-shut-dribbled.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiration Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-23T20:24:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/files\/2018\/02\/31915296404_afb8e15c44_b-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Hertzenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What if Charitable LeBron James \u201cJust Shut Up and Dribbled?\u201d","description":"LeBron James was recently told to stay out of politics and \u201cshut up and dribble.\u201d But what would his charities look like if he did just that?","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What if Charitable LeBron James \u201cJust Shut Up and Dribbled?\u201d","og_description":"LeBron James was recently told to stay out of politics and \u201cshut up and dribble.\u201d But what would his charities look like if he did just 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