Over a year ago, basketball superstar LeBron James opened his I Promise school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio with a lot of fanfare. The plan was to literally change the trajectory of these students lives by giving them a viable education. But James didn’t stop there.
He just announced plans to provide transitional housing for students and families in need of safe shelter.
The LeBron James Family Foundation and Graduate Hotels announced plans for the I Promise Village by Graduate Hotels to help I Promise students whose families might be fighting challenges such as homelessness, domestic violence or other traumatic or unsafe situations.
“Initially, our work was focused on helping these kids earn an education,” James said in a statement. “But we’ve found that it is impossible to help them learn if they are struggling to survive — if they are hungry, if they have no heat in the freezing winter, if they live in fear for their safety. We want this place to be their home where they feel safe, supported, and loved, knowing we are right there with them every step of the way as they get back on their feet.”
“You can have all the support in the world while you’re at school or while you’re at basketball and while you’re playing sports or anything, but if you go home and it’s not stable and you don’t have any stability there, you can resort back to the negative things or the bad habits that you might have. And, sometimes it’s not even the kids’ fault on why the situation is the way they are, so for us to be able to provide that for our kids and for the families and adults, as well, the parents, it’s a pretty cool things.”
According to ESPN.com, The Village will be renovated and furnished, is slated to be ready by July 2020.
“Being able to offer this safe haven for our families is transformational in every sense of the word,” said…