After successfully leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a historic comeback to clinch the 2016 NBA championship, LeBron James has sealed his legacy as one who overcomes the odds in more ways than one.
But after all the confetti has fallen in the long-awaited victory parade in Cleveland, a deeper question is: Can King James pull off a similar feat when it comes to helping disadvantaged kids get through college?
The question is fair game.
When the LeBron James Family Foundation announced last year that it would be supporting as many as 2,300 kids from his hometown of Akron, Ohio with four-year scholarships to the University of Akron, the philanthropic endeavor was met with a chorus of rightly deserved plaudits.
But the reality is between now and the year 2021 — when the first group of kids in the foundation’s Akron I PROMISE program should graduate from high school — educators and administrators at the foundation must develop a game plan that ensures students will not only qualify for the scholarships but earn their degrees.
Eligibility requirements such as a minimal GPA or college entrance exam score have yet to be determined. Even the source of funding for the scholarships is not entirely clear.
Be that as it may, those involved with the program are optimistic about it nevertheless.
