When LeBron James celebrated the opening of his school for at-risk youth in his hometown, the Los Angeles Lakers forward shared a touching message.
Because he’s been there.
Fox Sports shared the video of LeBron explaining why his foundation chose to create the I Promise School — which will serve 240 kids from Akron, Ohio.
"I know exactly what these 240 kids are going through … Because I've been there. They're the reason why this school is here today."
— A kid from Akron (@kingjames) on his new @IPROMISESchool pic.twitter.com/xuHKDqMjID
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 31, 2018
James’ message was passionate, emotional and even a little bit humorous at times. For everyone watching — whether in person or through other sources — he offered a poignant reminder in that two-minute snippet:
“For young kids — ages seven, eight, nine, 10 — the most important thing we can give them is structure and a sense of — they just someone to feel like we care. Kids just want to know if we care about ’em.”
The school is considered a joint venture between his foundation and the Akron Public School system. It’s a unique idea for education.
Both the school days and year are longer than normal, which is a concerted effort to keep children away from potential trouble factors outside of the classroom.
But most importantly, the 240 students know LeBron cares.
