Say what you want about him on the court, you can’t say that LeBron James doesn’t care about his community.
The Cleveland Cavaliers star was born and raised in Akron, OH, and on Thursday, King James announced that he would be paying the college tuition of children enrolled in his “I Promise” program.
Every single kid who finish my program will go to college for FREE! #Tryingtomakeadifference @LJFamFoundation
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 13, 2015
Together with the University of Akron, James will allow kids that meet the program’s academic requirements to attend college for free, starting in 2021. Currently there are about 1,100 students from third through seventh grade in the program, and tuition at Akron costs roughly $9,500 a year, but LeBron isn’t sweating the sticker price.
“I think it’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of,” James told ESPN. “This is very special to me. As a kid growing up in the inner city and as an African American kid, you don’t really think past high school because it’s not possible or your family can’t support you. For us to be able to do something like this … it means so much.”
Well said, ‘Bron.
[h/t: ESPN]