Milwaukee Bucks point guards Jrue Holiday and his Olympian wife Lauren Holiday have donated $1 million to Black-led nonprofits and Black-owner businesses.
Each donation is directed toward an organization in Milwaukee, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Los Angeles.
When we first decided to start this fund, it was an inflection point of two pandemics, the disproportionate effect that COVID-19 has had on the community, is equally as devastating, as well as the murders of George Floyd and many other unarmed Black people — resulting in an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness,” the Holidays said in a joint statement.
Having experienced their own personal challenges and heartache, the Holiday’s made a renewed commitment to supporting Black-led nonprofits and Black-owned nonprofits last summer. Life is so much more than basketball and they continue to live by that philosophy.
As teams returned for the NBA bubble, Holiday announced that he would be distributing the remainder of his game checks to Black-led organizations.
Jrue Holiday plans to donate his remaining game checks, potentially worth $5.3 million. pic.twitter.com/OWtUXRnLbz
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 15, 2020
“We were just kinda sitting in the house, and thinking about it, and my wife said I think you should do this, and you should do the rest of your salary,” Holiday told ESPN.
“That’s a great idea. Because we want to make an impact. God has blessed us with so much. We know a couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both. To be able to give away our money to help further this movement and Black-owned businesses that have taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, to us, it felt like the perfect time and opportunity.”
