LeBron James' new initiative aims to put thousands through college
For a number of athletes who grew up in economically disadvantaged areas, the plaintive cry is to get out. But for LeBron James, it’s about more than that. It’s about reaching back.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cleveland Cavaliers player announced a joint partnership between the LeBron James Family Foundation and the University of Akron-Cedar Point on Aug 13. The partnership will fund four-year scholarships for as many as 2,300 Akron students.
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“I did not have this opportunity or the kids growing up in my neighborhood to follow a program where we would have a scholarships waiting for us," James said in a press conference following the announcement. “This means so much.”
The higher education initiative is the next step in the foundation’s Akron “I Promise” Network, or AIPN -- a mentorship program, which follows students from middle school through high school with the aim of increasing graduation rates.
Approximately 1,100 students are currently enrolled in AIPN and 1,200 more are projected to enter the network over the next four years, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
A committee will finalize the scholarship eligibility requirements for those students, but University of Akron President Scott L. Scarborough said AIPN attendance and grade point average will be among the committee’s considerations.
“Our goal is to make it reasonable, to make it a level that these kids have a good chance of succeeding when they come to the University of Akron,” Scarborough said. “The more students who get there, the better.”
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Scarborough explained that the first round of recipients will be the graduating high school class of 2021. The university and foundation will fundraise over the next five years to meet the free college promise for those students.
“I think it's going to change so many lives,” James said. “Not only for the individual kid, but for their families. Their whole families.”
Jaleesa Jones is a summer 2015 Paste BN College intern and a recent alumna of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.