Tracy McGrady Foundation Benefits From Donation

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:06:53 -0000

Tracy McGrady entered the National Basketball Association in 1996 as the third youngest player ever drafted out of high school. Since then, he’s nabbed seven NBA All-Star awards and currently plays for the Houston Rockets. But it’s T-Mac’s efforts at spreading the love that has this writer giving him an ‘off-the-court’ All-Star award.

Since it’s inception about ten years ago, the Tracy McGrady Foundation has made substantial contributions to several charities and non-profit organizations, including the Special Olympics and the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of America. McGrady also plays Santa every year during his annual Holiday Toy Drive before bringing the kids to Toys R Us for a giant shopping spree; he loves to feed the elderly at Thanksgiving; he holds celebrity softball games to raise money for needy kids; he has renovated and reconstructed two learning centres at elementary schools in Houston; and he recently teamed up with The Enough Project to get a firsthand look at the genocide in Darfur

“Once you know what is happening over there,” said McGrady, “you’ll understand and will want to make a difference.”

McGrady’s stab at making a difference comes via a documentary he shot while visiting the Sudan. “I can’t wait for to you see the film, hear their stories, and know how easy it is to help,” he wrote on his website. “These are our brothers, our sisters, our children. They are in need and what if, just what if, we all do a small part to help. All those little things can help the people, and might help end this genocide.”

McGrady also runs one of the most popular basketball camps for kids, the T-Mac’s Approach Basketball Camp, which runs from June 23-27 in Texas.

“It is not just basketball that the kids are learning at our camp,” said T-Mac. “They leave with an appreciation of good sportsmanship and the knowledge that with dedication and commitment you can accomplish your goals”.

McGrady’s efforts seem contagious, and this week Wealth Masters International became the ‘Community Leadership Sponsor’ after donating $10,000 to his Camp.

“There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you have positively influenced the life of a child, and we are proud to be able to support a charity that allows us to see and experience first-hand the positive reinforcement these kids receive through Tracy’s basketball camp,” said CEO Kip Herriage when asked why he chose to lead the initiative in Wealth Master’s sponsorship of the camp.
“I can tell you that spending quality time with a person of Tracy’s integrity will have a positive impact on their lives.”

Ensuring that all children have the opportunity to attend, Wealth Masters has also unveiled an initiative that will allow 3 children between the ages of 8 and 13 years old to write an essay on why they should be selected to attend the camp this year. Each child that is chosen will receive round trip airfare as well as room and board.

“I began this process knowing that I could utilize my corporate partner and celebrity status to bring needed funds and attention to programs across the country,” said McGrady. “I want to thank you for your participation, commitment and support of my summer basketball camp program. I am honored to have Wealth Masters International as our Community Leadership Sponsor. My basketball camp is important to me and I appreciate sponsors like yourself that support our efforts.”

NBA's Tracy McGrady Stands Up For Darfur

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:19:30 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Houston Rockets’ seven-time All Star Tracy McGrady has launched a campaign to improve education for Sudanese refugees by announcing his participation in the “Stand Up For Darfur” humanitarian project in front of 400 students at Auburndale High School in Florida.

McGrady asked the students from his former school to join him in building schools and raising funds for the humanitarian effort, administered by his own Tracy McGrady Foundation. He recently returned from a visit to the region, in which he experienced the horrors of the current conflict first-hand.

“It sounds devastating,” McGrady told the students. “But to actually hear it and see it and listen to some of the stories was definitely an eye opener and a humbling experience. My goal is to build 12 schools over there. I’m getting 11 other NBA players to help me with this. But you guys are the first to know about this. I want to challenge you guys to come up with some ways to help these kids get an education and better themselves. They want books and they want to be educated. It’s up to us to really help these guys out.”

McGrady, who spent four days in Darfur over the summer, wrote an article for the Houston Chronicle describing his experience.

“It all seemed so innocent at first,” wrote McGrady. "Last week, just a few weeks before the Rockets training camp begins, we got off a plane in a sleepy town called Goz Beida in the eastern part of Chad, a country in Central Africa that borders the Sudanese region of Darfur. It was during what they call the “rainy season” in that part of the world, so the hills surrounding the town were a deep shade of green. The first signs that things weren’t completely normal in the place we visited were the makeshift huts made out of sticks, mud and plastic sheets that we saw right outside of town — literally thousands of the flimsy structures. But it wasn’t until we started talking to the people living inside those huts that we had, without realizing it, entered the gates of Hell on Earth."

During his trip, McGrady worked with filmmakers to produce a documentary entitled “Not a Game,” which was shown to students during the assembly.

“They’re going to come through,” McGrady said of the students. “I’m looking around right now and some of them are still hanging around to ask questions. They asked really good questions. They’re determined to really be a part of this and that’s a great thing.”

Determined to lead by example, McGrady kicked in a $75,000 donation to be used to renovate and build a school in the Djabal Camp in eastern Chad. The Rockets star plans to name Auburndale High School as a sister school to the one being built in Chad. The money raised will also help train teachers as well as provide a year’s worth of school materials, clothing and other essentials for students. Additionally, McGrady has formed the T-Mac Alliance to work with other charitable organizations in raising funds to support education in Darfur.

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