LeBron James supported First Lady Michelle’s “Make Better Room” campaign by hosting an event at the University of Akron where student were encouraged to further their education.
Around 2,500 students attended the event on Wednesday and the First Lady started off by saying, “Mr. LeBron, as you call him – I was telling Mr. LeBron that he has two huge fans in the White House. That’s me and that’s President Obama. Now, yes, [LeBron] is probably one of the greatest athletes on the planet. But we love this man because of the man he is. You know? … He is stepping up so huge.”
James is stepping up greatly, because he is sending even more kids to college with the help of Mrs. Obama. Back in August, he announced plans to fund a four-year tuition at the U of A for any student that is enrolled in his “I Promise” initiative who qualifies for it.
“[There] are so many kids that have so many dreams, and those dreams get shut off because of so many different reasons,” James said. “It could be a family situation or it could be just they don’t believe that their dreams can become reality. With this education program that we’re setting up, it allows that dream to become real.” There are around 1,100 kids in the program now and the foundation is on track to add 1,200 more over the course of four years.
First Lady Michelle believes that education is so important and that’s what encouraged her to start her “Make Better Room” campaign. It’s designed to “have society shower the same adulation and respect upon successful students as it does to athletes, celebrities and others in the public spotlight” according to ESPN. In a private Q&A with Michael Wilbon, she expressed the importance of education. “It is the absolute best investment that young people can make in their futures, she said. “I just don’t think we talk about that enough. We don’t shine a light on that.”
This dynamic duo share the same concerns, the main one is to make sure that everyone has a choice in bettering their lives. “I want to make sure that our kids in this country are achieving [their] goals and they have the resources they need for school regardless of their background,” the FLOTUS explained. “So, we want to make room for your stories. We want to make sure you all are inspiring each other and that we’re rekindling that hunger for education in every single one of our kids.”
LeBron closed the event by telling the students, “You kids, you guys are like the icing on the cake for me in everything that I do.” How amazing is that?
TSR Intern: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on Instagram & @tallyohhh on Twitter!
Sources Cited: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13943009/lebron-james-joins-michelle-obama-championing-higher-education , http://www.people.com/article/michelle-obama-lebron-james-partner-higher-education , http://nypost.com/2015/08/14/lebron-james-pledges-87m-for-hometown-kids-to-attend-college/
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