NBA All-Star, Dwight Howard, has been reaching many impoverished communities with his D12 Foundation. Some of his most recent contributions include donating $25,000 to single teen mothers and donating $100,000 to Haiti while also travelling there to lend a helping hand. In honor of being a four-time recipient of the “Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment, Dwight Howard presented a $25,000 check to the BETA Center in Orland for the second year in a row. The donation will be used to support his “Dwight Howard Learning Center at BETA” which is a program that incorporates creative activities to empower teen moms to achieve success in their academics and in their careers. The services at the learning center will include tutoring, college preparation, and self-esteem building. The center also plans to fund college application fees as well as test preparation booklets, instructional materials, and other vital program-related supplies.
Howard also recently donated $100,000 to the young earthquake victims in Haiti through his Dwight Howard Fund. The earthquake devastated millions of people in Haiti, leaving an estimated 230,000 dead and over a million homeless. As part of his efforts, Dwight launched a challenge on www.pinkdingo.com to help raise money for children affted by the earthquake. To motivate people to work together for this cause, two lucky Dwight Howard Fund Challenge donors received a $500 Adidas shopping spree with Dwight himself and a trip to the NBA Eastern Final for a minimum donation of $2.99. Upon discussion of his philanthropic efforts, Dwight stated, “I was personally moved to do something international after spending time in South Africa last summer and finding out the impact I can make on kids from a different culture and place. Haiti seemed like the perfect place to start and a place that really needs the help. They were a poor country and then they had the devastating earthquake, so they need a lot of help. There have been a lot of relief efforts in Haiti already but there’s still a lot of work to do there, especially with the children.”
To learn about Dwight’s other philanthropic efforts or to donate, please visit www.d12foundation.org
