Category: LeBron James Family Foundation

LeBron James to author ‘I Promise’ children’s book, out in August

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is adding children’s book author to his already extensive resume of achievements.

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers are still a few days away from resuming their regularly scheduled season, the world of LeBron James is constantly in motion. On Tuesday, news broke that James, in addition to his basketball and entertainment exploits, will add children’s book author to his resume after signing a two-book deal with publisher HarperCollins, with the first set to release in August of this year.

“I Promise” by LeBron James, featuring illustrations from artist Nina Mata, will be LeBron’s first children’s book. The book, according to a press release, is inspired by the values that LeBron champions at the I Promise public school in Akron, Ohio.

“Books have the ability to teach, inspire, and bring people together. That’s why these books, and the opportunity to get children and parents reading together, mean so much to me,” said LeBron James. “Most importantly, we wanted to make sure these stories are ones that every single kid can see themselves in. I PROMISEis powerful in that way and I can’t wait for people to read it.”

The book is already available for pre-order. The “I Promise” school and program has had a busy couple of weeks, with Kent State University guaranteeing full tuition to the first graduating class of the “I Promise” network.

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LeBron James says giving kids college options ‘best thing I’ve ever done’

The Los Angeles Lakers star was asked about the latest news that Kent State offered scholarships to LeBron’s first I Promise class.

After another strong performance by LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in last night’s win over the Denver Nuggets to push them into the All-Star break, James finally had some time to reflect on a major accomplishment for one of his biggest off-court endeavors.

On Wednesday, the LeBron James Family Foundation shared a video that showed the first graduating class from the I Promise program, which will graduate next summer, receiving four-year scholarships to Kent State University. This gesture from Kent State is a separate offer from the commitment from the University of Akron, which gives I Promise students full tuition.

James said that being able to help these kids from when they were young to now when they are able to have multiple options of tuition-free college is the best thing he’s ever done.

LeBron is proud of his incredible basketball accomplishments but as he has been vocal about for over a decade now, he hopes that what he creates outside of basketball as an impact that’s even bigger.

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Kent State surprises LeBron’s first ‘I Promise’ class with free tuition

The Los Angeles Lakers star started a program in Northeast Ohio that became a school and they earned scholarships to Kent State University.

Although the I Promise public school in Akron, Ohio has gotten the majority of the attention when it comes to LeBron James’ efforts to educate underserved youth in his native Northeast Ohio, the I Promise program dates far back before the I Promise school opened its doors for third and fourth graders in 2018. In fact, the first class of students from the I Promise program are currently juniors in high school and will be graduating soon. But those kids were given an incredible option this week by an Ohio university.

Kent State University surprised a group of students from the I Promise network with four years of free tuition to the school, including one year of free room and board. You can see the moment when kids and parents found out about the scholarships they had earned.

“We are so pleased to take our partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation to this next level and welcome these students fully into the Kent State family,” Kent State President Todd Diacon said in an announcement from the school.  “Kent State looks forward to the time when our campus is teeming with I PROMISE students.”

Although this is just the first class of students who have been awarded such scholarships, Kent State indicated that future classes will also have similar opportunities. To be eligible, students must be admitted to Kent State and also fill out required financial aid forms, as well as complete a requirement of community service hours each semester.

The University of Akron also has a scholarship commitment to students in the I Promise network. The first I Promise class is expected to graduate 193 students at the end of the next school year.

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LeBron ‘needs to see how body feels’ before committing to Tokyo 2020

The Los Angeles Lakers star told reporters that his priority right now is a long playoff run for his team and hopefully a championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business last night as they thumped the Phoenix Suns in a 25-point victory and a rare huge night from their bench. But before the game, the Lakers had already received a major victory in terms of recognition as five members of the team, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were included on USA Basketball’s 44-man player pool for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

However, LeBron James himself remains non-committal about playing in the tournament. Although James has been open to playing in the Olympics, he’s made it abundantly clear that his first priority is leading the Lakers in the NBA playoffs later this spring, according to USA TODAY’s Mark Medina.

“It’s always predicated on my body, and how my body is feeling at the end of the season,” said James, who his in his 17th NBA season. “I hope to make a long playoff run. And then see where my mind is and then where my family’s head is. So, it’s a lot of factors.”

Another factor that James didn’t mention is that he’s the NBA’s All-Time leader in minutes played in the NBA playoffs. He will add to that total later this year and after a season in which LeBron has led the NBA in assists, he may need the period between late July and early August to recover from what they hope will be a long playoff run.

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