Astros, Rockets, Houston Texans and Dynamo stars prove charity starts at home base.
Astros, Texans, Rockets and Dynamo sports stars prove charity starts at home base
They say that playing sports helps kids build character and learn the importance of teamwork. On Houston’s pro turf (and courts), star athletes prove that the playing field is a great place for charitable lessons, too.
Just look at Jose Altuve and J.J. Watt, who shared last year’s “Sports Illustrated” Sportsperson of the Year title and magazine cover. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Astros’ MVP Award-winning second baseman and 15 teammates visited a shelter on a nongame day. Altuve donated $30,000 to recovery efforts and another $25,000 worth of shoes for families in need; the boys in blue and orange clinched World Series victory shortly after.
Meanwhile Watt, the Texans’ then-injured three-time Defensive Player of the Year Award recipient, raised more than $37 million to aid flood victims.
Their teammates, including shortstop Carlos Correa and linebacker Whitney Mercilus, also chipped in. Correa partnered with Houston Children’s Charity to provide 500 mattresses, bed frames and linens to children in need of a place to sleep. Mercilus personally donated $65,000 to the Smartie Pants Academy, a northwest Houston organization that serves special-needs students whose families struggled to recover post-storm.
Rockets shooting/point guard James Harden wrote a $1 million check to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and spent Thanksgiving 2017 distributing meals to families impacted by flood damage. Last August, his 3TheHarden Way Foundation used funds raised over JHTown Weekend to provide 150 backpacks filled with school supplies to Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston clients.
And though fellow point guard Chris Paul moved to town shortly after Harvey hit, the North Carolina native contributed $50,000 and proceeds from an eBay auction to relief victims. During October’s Chris Paul Celebrity Serve Dinner at Mastro’s Steakhouse, his eponymous foundation passed $25,000 checks to the Houston Food Bank and Urban Enrichment Institute; the latter pairs at-risk young men with mentors and after-school programs based on their career and higher-education goals.
But it’s not just the players. Their teams’ respective foundations champion youth-focused programming as well.
“The newest thing we’re doing is with Texas Children’s Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit,” shared Jennifer Davenport, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Texans. “BMW donated a 440i convertible, so we’re selling $100 raffle tickets throughout the entire season, and someone will win the car during the fan-appreciation game.”
The goal is to raise $250,000 for the special unit that helps patients heal physical and emotional wounds following a severe illness or traumatic injury.
Earlier this fall, Children’s Memorial Hermann tapped Rockets players Gerald Green and PJ Tucker to unveil its namesake Sky Court during a VIPs-only “Night of MVPs” at the Toyota Center.
The upper-concourse-level, 5,000-square-foot interactive space features a kid-sized court, locker room, games and nutrition display.
Even newcomers such as the Rockets’ Carmelo Anthony are entering the local philanthropic arena.
“Carmelo just got here, and he’s already partnered with HISD donating supplies to teachers,” Rockets community relations director Sarah Joseph said. Nearly 150 educators from four underserved elementary schools received classroom essentials from the NBA AllStar.
In addition to the mini pitch (small-sided futbol court) and free weekly soccer training that Dynamo Charities offers Project Chrysalis Middle School students in East End, player/role models Andrew Wenger and Alberth Elis are going the extra mile.
Wenger’s First Pass Initiative led a four-week soccer clinic at the Forge for Families in Third Ward and donated 200 tickets —with transportation — to a Dynamo home game.
When “Black Panter” pandemonium hit, Elis treated 50 students from Las Americas Newcomer School to a private screening of the blockbuster film.
The Astros Foundation’s annual Diamond Dreams Gala has become one of the hottest off-season tickets around. Just four years into the nonprofit’s decade-long partnership with New Hope Housing, the affordable-living solution’s mixedused development, NHH at Harrisburg, is finally complete
— and fully leased.
“A significant number of the individuals living there were at the George R. Brown (Convention Center) after Harvey, more than 20 percent,” said Joy Horak-Brown, NHH president and CEO. “Gala proceeds going forward beginning in 2020 will be available for us to make a determination on a year-by-year basis.”
The gala takes over Minute Maid Park each winter, though the Astros Youth Academy provides free baseball and softball instruction year-round to youths 17 and younger.
“We’re hoping to break ground in November or December on the Bob Watson Educational Center,” said Astros Foundation executive director Twila Carter of the youth academy’s 6,000square-foot expansion project. “And we also have the (Astros Foundation) Literacy Bus that’s been on the road for almost two years and has provided 25,000 books through partnerships with the Houston Public Library and corporate book sponsors.”
Houston’s young athletes can learn a lot about generosity from these hometown heroes.