Dishing Out The Holiday Assist

December 07, 2010

Thanks to the generosity of many of the NBA’s community-minded players, thousands of families throughout the country enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving. In addition to the NBA Players Association’s distribution of nearly 10,000 turkeys to families in-need nationwide, individual players in a number of NBA cities made significant contributions of their own. Here is just a snapshot of their goodwill:

· Andray Blatche, Washington Wizards: Distributed 500 turkey baskets to families at Simon Elementary School.

· Wilson Chandler, New York Knicks: Donated turkeys and side items to 300 families from the Children’s Aid Society, as well as provided an on-site fresh food market and kids pizza party.

· Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls: Donated and served a Thanksgiving dinner for more than 700 men, women and children visiting the Pacific Garden Mission homeless shelter.

· Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats: Hosted 80 homeless children and women at a local restaurant for a Thanksgiving lunch, as well as provided goody bags and tickets to a Bobcats game.

· Chris Duhon, Orlando Magic: Donated food and personal care items to 400 families in his hometown of Louisiana.

· Daniel Gibson, Cleveland Cavaliers: Purchased turkeys and fixings for 100 underserved families through the City of Cleveland.

· Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic: Distributed turkeys and the trimmings to 400 families at the Dr. James R. Smith Center.

· Josh Howard, Washington Wizards: Distributed 300 turkeys to Washington, D.C. families at the Barry Farms Recreational Center.

· LeBron James, Miami Heat: Donated 700 Thanksgiving dinners to needy families from his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

· Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers: The Marquette alum donated 100 turkeys as part of Milwaukee’s three-day food drive at State Fair Park.

· J.J. Redick, Orlando Magic: Donated and distributed turkeys to 250 families at Rosemont Community Park.

· Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks: Gave 200 families at Buckner Children’s Home a full holiday meal, plus $25 gift cards to Kroger.

· Jawad Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers: Purchased and distributed turkeys and the fixings for 100 underserved families at Bethany Baptist Church.