Nike video features LeBron James telling story of work in Akron community (2024)
LeBron James is the subject of a video produced by Nike as part of its series, “What Are You Working On?,” which the company "uncovers the works in progress happening around the world, as told through the lens of athletes who are navigating new journeys in and beyond their sport."
James, who grew up in Akron and attended St. Vincent St. Mary’s High School, is considered by many to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Now 37, he went to Cleveland in the 2003 NBA Draft. He went on to help the Cavaliers win its first NBA title in 2016, after a period of time with the Miami Heat during which the Heat won two NBA championships. James went to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, where he won his fourth NBA title in 2020.
In the 20 years since starting his career, James has contributed to the Akron community in numerous ways, including with his I Promise School, a public elementary school in Akron supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation.
The video features James narrating his work giving back to the community as he drives around the city, stopping at House Three Thirty, the Spring Hill Apartments, his former high school and the I Promise Institute.
"I'm always trying to find a way to continue to empower and infuse life into this community which built me," James says in the video.
House Three Thirty, named after the Akron area telephone code 330, is the former Tangier event center, which was purchased by the LeBron Family Foundation in 2020 and is being renovated.
The foundation plans to use the venue as a gathering space for I Promise School and I Promise program students and their families.And, like in the past, it will continue to offer public concerts and space for speakers once House Three Thirty is fully up and running.
James said he used to go to banquets at the Tangier after basketball tournaments.
"For us to now own this place, it's going to be another resource for our families," he says in the video.
James lived at Spring Hill Apartments from sixth to 12th grades. He said that he and some of his high school friends still communicate, and call the years they were together between 1999 and 2003, the best time of their lives.
The last stop is a commercial kitchen at the I Promise Institute, where a group of students wearing shirts with the logo "We Are Family" talk with James.
James continues narrating as he drives around the city.
"Everybody's journey makes them who they are," he says. "Because of the shortcomings and things that I had to go through when I was younger, I wanted to make sure the majority of the kids that came from the same community didn't have to go through ... You just hope that you can leave it in a better place than it was when you was growing up."
The "What Are You Working On?" episode featuring James is the 24th since the first video in the series was posted early this year.
After struggling with poverty as a child, LeBron has continued to support underprivileged children around the country. His LeBron James Family Foundation has taken on many campaigns, from giving children school supplies and other necessary materials to housing students in their pursuit of education.
LeBron James' Home Court offers visitors a peek inside the Akron native's life, from his childhood years at Spring Hill Apartments to his career at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to his rise to NBA fame.
Like most NBA stars, the biggest deal for both is their shoe contracts. James signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2019 that pays more than $30 million annually.
LeBron James has one of the biggest shoe deals in the history of the industry. In 2010, he signed a lifetime deal with Nike worth an estimated $1 billion.
In the past the program has built a school in Akron, a village where students can go if they're homeless and a scholarship program. The I Promise Program was created in 2011 as a part of the LeBron James Family Foundation. that works to better the community in Akron.
See Also: Top 10 NBA Salaries: How Do Steph Curry And LeBron James Stack Up? Though by no means is James stingy when it comes to giving back: his LeBron James Family Foundation has raised and given a whopping $100 million to at least seven foundations, supporting at least 12 causes.
LeBron James' Ohio property is one of the first estates he acquired since starting his professional career. The property spans across seven acres of land and the current mansion built on the estate is a massive 30,000-square-foot beauty. Although the family no longer lives there, LeBron James still owns the house.
LeBron James was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, where he faced challenges growing up. Now, his former childhood home is a symbol of just how far you can make it with hard work and a support system.
It's not hard to imagine how something was worked out -- Akron did, after all, rename its college of education the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education. James, 31, didn't go to college. He went straight from Akron St. Vincent-St.
Currently the NBA's highest-paid active player, LeBron James reached billionaire status in 2022, according to Forbes. And he's certainly not waiting for retirement to expand his empire.
Former NBA point guard Magic Johnson is now a billionaire, joining fellow NBA players Michael Jordan and LeBron James as well as golfer Tiger Woods as the only athletes to do so.
At the time, Lebron James was one of the most hyped-up prospects of all time and was fresh out of high school. There was even a Sports Illustrated article where he was named “The Chosen One”, which reinforces the hype he garnered. As a result, shoe companies like Reebok, Nike, and Adidas wanted him to sign with them.
NBA All-Star Lebron James has a net worth of $1 billion, according to Forbes. James is currently the NBA's highest-paid active player, earning over $431 million playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers.
He became the first athlete to sign a billion-dollar contract with Nike when he inked a lifetime deal with the brand in 2015, and he has been a tremendously marketable athlete throughout his tenure in the league. James has also influenced younger players in the league, some of whom grew up watching him.
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player who is widely considered one of the greatest all-around basketball players of all time. James has won four National Basketball Association championships with three different teams, and he has been named NBA MVP four times.
NBA Cares works with nationally and internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Vera Institute of Justice, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, UNICEF, Special Olympics, The Jed Foundation, Share ...
And according to our friends at the National Golf Foundation and GOLF 20/20, the game of golf accounts for more than $3.9 BILLION in charitable giving each year, and golf's charitable impact is greater than Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Basketball League and National Hockey League combined.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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