As an addition to the already extensive philanthropic work the Lebron James Family Foundation has done, Lebron James opened up a school on Monday morning in Akron, Ohio.
240 third and fourth graders began their 2018-2019 with 43 bright faced staff members on Monday morning.
On Sunday the championship NBA player expressed his nervousness, but overwhelming excited for the school opening via Twiiter:
The jitters before the first day of school are real right now!!! Tomorrow is going to be one of the greatest moments (if not the greatest) of my life when we open the #IPROMISE School. This skinny kid from Akron who missed 83 days of school in the 4th grade had big dreams… https://t.co/PwmRaHRfng
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 29, 2018
The new Akron Public School not only looks spectacular on the inside, with 114 of Lebron’s game shoes lining the lobby walls, but it also brims with opportunity for the students and their parents.
The Lebron James Family Foundation partnered with Akron Public Schools to provide a longer school year, in which the students are encouraged to accelerate their learning while redirecting them from possible troublesome living situations. The goal is that most, if not all students will succeed in the program, thus giving them the opportunity to go to Akron University tuition free.
Job placement services are offered to any struggling parents, as well as, an on-site food bank that is equipped with food that parents are able to prepare at home.
Education has been a cause near and dear to the father of three. It was in the third grade that Lebron’s life changed forever. His mother, Gloria James, who birth James at 16, wanted her son to have better opportunities than she could afford him, so placed him under the wings of Frank Walker. Walker nurtured James as his own, even introducing him to basketball.
King James does not stop giving and has blessed his hometown beyond measures. We’re sure the first day went great!
– Sciler Williams
