Former Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul is among NBA players helping minority children open savings accounts and gain financial literacy.
Paul will deposit $40 into new savings accounts of 100 kids. Other athletes including Harrison Barnes and Baron Davis, along with celebrities and actors, will join in and do the same, according to The Root.
“Black History Month is a reminder of the hundreds of years that Black people have been a labor force and a consumer class in America,” Paul said in a statement to The Root. “This partnership is about learning from our history to create a strong future that prepares the next generation of Black and Brown kids to be savers and investors. Financial education is a necessary and critical component of creating an equal America.”
Paul and other athletes including Kevin Durant partnered with financial tech startup Goalsetter and billionaire chairman of Vista Equity Partners, Robert F. Smith, according to CNBC.
Goalsetter and the National Basketball Players Association is hoping to create savings accounts for one million minority children.
According to the Chicago Defender, each child will receive a savings account through Goalsetter’s app and a $40 deposit into the FDIC-insured account and financial literacy education.
Additionally, they will get a “cashola” card, described as the app’s teen debit card backed by Mastercard.