LeBron James is well known for his community activism, and now he’s being recognized for his efforts. James is the winner of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for the 2016-17 season according to ESPN. James makes his known that one of his main priorities is to give back to the surrounding communities where he grew up in Akron, OH. One of the main reasons James says he went back to the Cavs organization was his love for the state of Ohio.
“It’s always been a big priority as far as whenever I said if I’m able to become successful in whatever I do in life, I want to give back to my community,” James said. “But it’s all about trying to figure out what’s the most important impact you can make. Once we started shifting the bike-a-thon into the educational thing, seeing that these kids needed help at that particular point in their lives in the third grade and started to make it more about that and not only helping the kids but also helping the parents as well, that’s when it became more impactful because you know it can help these kids later on in life.”
The J. Walter Kennedy Award isn’t an easy one to win either. It isn’t just for players. It can also be awarded to a coach or athletic trainer in the NBA. LeBron seems to understand honor bestowed to him and what it means for the hundreds of kids he works with throughout the years.
“It means a lot,” James said after Cleveland Cavaliers shootaround Sunday morning in preparation for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. “I do so much for my community and my foundation does a great job of giving families and kids and the youth an opportunity to better their lives and better their futures.
“For that part of what I do to be recognized, it’s definitely an award that not only myself and my foundation but all my kids that are a part of my program and all the people that look up to me, it’s their award for sure.”
Over 1,100 kids have benefited from the work that James has done in his community. James established an organization called LJFF in 2004, and since its inception the organization has refocused its efforts to educating young people.