Chris Paul Named ESPN's Sports Humanitarian of the Year
9/17/2016Los Angeles Clippers all-star point guard Chris Paul has been named ESPN s second annual Sports Humanitarian of the Year for using the power of sports to make a positive impact on society, ESPN announced.
Paul and his family have dedicated themselves to helping children through the Chris Paul Family Foundation. The Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Bowling Invitational, which airs annually on ESPN, is one of the events that contributes to the foundation.
After opening a newly-refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Watts, Paul said, ""It hit me that it's not fair that a kid on this side of town doesn't have the same opportunities as a kid on the other side of town."
For his work with the Boys & Girls Club and his dedication to helping the community, Paul received the April 2015 NBA Cares Community Assist Award in recognition of his outstanding charitable contributions and philanthropy, one of three community assist awards he received in his career. Paul and his family foundation have made a $1 million commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, from Los Angeles to his hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C., where he established the Nathaniel Jones Scholarship Fund at Wake Forest, providing one athletic and one academic full-ride scholarship to the school.
With charitable efforts such as his annual Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Bowling Invitational and his TopSpin Celebrity Ping Pong Tournament in Las Vegas, he's also found ways to raise money in exciting and fun ways, often bringing in other celebrities to help the cause. "As a lot of people know, we really focus
on putting technology and computer labs in underprivileged schools," Paul said during his
2016 bowling event. "Events like this, while they're fun and give people the opportunity to entertain and have a good time, it's all going to a great cause. It's always a lot of fun, and it's good to have some new faces."
Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com
