Many of your favorite athletes have been paying it forward to the youth in many different ways. Russell Westbrook is the latest athlete to use his platform to help push the youth in the right direction.
According to TMZ, Russell’s “Why Not? Foundation” recently partnered with Chad Brownstein and the LA Conservation Corps to launch the Westbrook/Brownstein Green Tech Program to help “at-risk young adults,” in the Los Angeles area learn digital fields skills that can help lead to job opportunities in the tech field.
Aside from students learning coding skills, and computer engineering, they have also launched an “advanced drone piloting career path program.”
Russell talked about his latest initiative and said, “As a kid who grew up here in LA, I know how important it is to feel supported and empowered by the community. By helping to provide these resources my hope is that the youth will be able to see how bright their future can be and expand the vision of what they think they’re capable of.”
He also spoke with People about the launch of the program and said, “I feel like this particular program actually impacts the kids’ futures, impacts their mind, the mentality of where they grew up, where they’re from. I definitely can relate to that because I feel like I was one of those kids growing up in the city of Los Angeles and finding my way, figuring out what was the best path for me.”
For those who are unfamiliar with Russell Westbrook’s “Why Not? Foundation,” the organization’s mission is to “inspire the lives of children, empower them to ask “Why Not?” and teach them to never give up.”
Aside from the launch of the program, Russell and Chad Brownstein are also funding a state of the art computer lab.
It’s great to see Russell Westbrook give back to his community in such a major way.
Sources: https://www.tmz.com/2019/08/20/russell-westbrook-launches-drone-pilot-program-for-at-risk-youth/
