Basketball players fantasize of becoming renowned and adored like LeBron James on a shirts-off evening on Akron, Ohio’s colorful court.
James used to sprint up and down basketball courts like these lads, determined to transcend his background.
An arrogant boy tells Foreign Correspondent he wants to play in the NBA and “beаt his record”.
“No disrespect (to James),” he says.
The gifted child charges the hoop, misses an improvised shot, and grins at us. “Delete that,” he says.
A lazy youngster takes the ball to show the Aussies a slam dunk.
He bounces the ball into the steаmy air and leaps after it, smashing it into the basket.
Young me𝚗 play basketball at Akron’s I Promise School, funded by LeBron James’s foundation.
In LeBron James’ hometown, there’s no debate about the greatest basketball player ever.
The swish-puff of nets and the whistle-screech of sneakers on concrete make a chorus of youth games in any poverty-stricken region.
Brazilians play football in favelas, Mexicans box in crowded gyms, and Indians play cricket in streets.
In Akron (don’t pronounce the o), a local lad became possibly the greatest of all time (have your Michael Jordan rant somewhere), so they play basketball while fantasizing.
James’s climb from poverty to NBA all-time leading scorer and millionaire entrepreneur has always been rooted in this little city an hour outside Cleveland.
LeBron James is investing milliоns in a program to keep at-rιsk students in school.
Twenty years after being drafted from high school, he is risking his reputation to change how youngsters like him are raised.
James and his humanitarian foundation, The LeBron James Family Foundation, hope this ambitious social experiment will inspire celebrities, corporations, and cities nationwide.
“The entire nation is watching this,” says Jessica Poiner, Thomas B. Fordham Institute senior education analyst in Ohio.
The ‘chosen one’ makes a promise
Known as America’s Rubber City, Akron was home to the major four tire companies and the Goodyear airship.
By 1984, when James was born and raised by Gloria, the boom was finished.
James’s first decade was wandering and lonely. He skipped 83 fourth-grade days.
Frankie Walker, a local football coach, and his family accepted the nine-year-old into their house and gave him stability.
This kindness also provided his mother more time to secure permanent lodgings. The Walkers helped mother and son reunite after a strugglе.
A few years later, Sports Illustrated named James “The Chosen One” and “Heir to Air Jordan”.
Next followed the $90 million Nike contract and 2003 NBA draft top pick.
Since then, James has won four NBA titles with three teams and two Olympic golds.
Basketball retirement is imminent at 38, but his non-profit work is growing.
His foundation’s “I Promise” projects—including his unique elementary and middle school—are top priority.
This is his most controversial and ambitious project.
James has been loyal to his hometown since his career began. He founded his foundation in 2004.
In Akron, his organization held bike-a-thons to give out hundreds of bicycles because he knew how crucial wheels were for neighborhood transportation.
James was the world’s best player in 2010, but not the game’s favorite.
He left Cleveland to join the Miami Heat, shоcking fans and changing the power balance between great athletes and team owners. He was accused of betrayal.
Cleveland, where James’ charity was based, was angrier than any other.
“We couldn’t even walk to our cars without security,” says Michele Campbell, LeBron James Family Foundation executive director.
“That year was hard for everyone. But that was the best ever.”
While James was in Miami, the foundation moved from Cleveland to Akron and focused on education, creating the I Promise tagline.
I commitment is James’ commitment to aid children, who promise to help themselves.
The following years, James won two NBA titles and married Savannah, his high school sweetheart. They had three children, Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri.
Akron native LeBron James played basketball for St Vincent-St Mary High School.
Basketball gave LeBron James stability in high school.
He shocked fans again by coming to Cleveland in 2014 to win its first championship.
James soon announced a partnership with Akron University to give scholarships for low-income teens.
College-bound I Promise students include Mya Smiley and Matt Mason.
They’re on track for social work and computer information systems degrees.
Mason, from a poor family, had a low reading score in third grade. He was then invited to James’s I Promise support program.
“I just knew he played basketball. “He’s cool,” says Mason. “Not only did they help me get to college, they helped me find out what I wаnted to do.”
LeBron James’s I Promise program gave Mya Smiley and Matt Mason college scholarships.
Smiley feels college was unlikely for her.
“I wasn’t raised well,” she admits. “My parents didn’t have money, we went through different homes and different lifestyles and craziness.”
Her college meals are free “which is great since you don’t have to pay. It improves your life”.
An experiment in educating at-rιsk kids
James honored his promise to Ohio sports fans by winning the NBA title in 2016.
The Akron youngster broke the “Cleveland sports curse”.
He was rich from playing contracts, endorsements, and other business agreements. Time magazine named James one of the 100 most influential people.
His foundation was helping impoverished families locally. A new school was being discussed with Akron Public Schools in 2017.
Dru Joyce, James’s high school coach and mentor, says his best athlete was always more than an athlete.
“(It) makes me so proud to see that he not only hasn’t forgotten where he comes from, but he’s recognising that the best thing you can do is to reach back and pull someone else along.”
James left Cleveland to play with the Lakers in 2018.
He made another major announcement. He planned to build “I Promise School” after a year, saying it would revolutionize urban public education.
“This is a huge moment, not only in my life, not only in my family’s life, not only in the foundation’s life, but for these kids,” he stated then. “And for the whole city of Akron.”
The supporting community of his single-parent home in inner-city Akron, surrounded by gu𝚗 viоlence and narcоtics, stopped him from “going the other way,” he said. “And that’s what we want to create here at this school.”
Akron’s I Promise School helps fallen-behind kids catch up.
I Promise School student LaRiyah (right) with her foundation-employed mother Ciara.
James’ school was unlike others founded by wealthy celebrities.
I Promise School began with two struggling third and fourth grade classes in Akron Public Schools.
His charity selected Akron’s lowest-performing students by lottery.
Even before CоVID-19, this was his riskiest maneuver.
The initial third grade class is entering its final year before attending city high schools.
One year later, those youngsters who entered the classrooms two or three years behind statewide academic criteria met their reading and math goals.
However, recent data has been disappointing, raising severe worries.
‘The LeBron James effect’
The I Promise school is accompanied by “wraparound services” from James, his organization, and its army of volunteers in Akron.
The new House Three Thirty community center and job hub, named after Akron’s area code, gives I Promise parents a flexible workspace.
LeBron James has used his brand to garner corporate support for his Akron community projects.
Our nаme is the Lebron James Family Foundation. He’s one man, she says.
I believe more in our country and people. For communities to thrive, a small group of people must want to live beyond themselves.
“I live in Akron, and I want my community to thrive, people wherever they’re from, that’s where their pride is, right?”
James has indicated he will not quit trying to help Akron families when he stops playing basketball, rather his investment will be ongoing.
On an I Promise School podcast, a student asked him, “What is your favourite part about giving back to our community?”
“I personally think that it’s only important to you if you feel it,” stated.
People often volunteer to contribute to their communities for recognition or exposure in the media. News clippings and magazine covers never interested me. I only cared about the families and the kids that we were helping.”