NBA Cares announces initiative creating 50 Live, Learn or Play centers
The NBA announced in a press release today:
As part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary, the NBA today announced a leaguewide initiative to create and dedicate more than 50 new Live, Learn or Play Centers during the 2021-22 season, tipping off today in New Orleans. The new NBA 75th Live, Learn or Play initiative, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, will celebrate the historic milestone season while continuing the league’s legacy of supporting and uniting communities globally through the game of basketball. The program will be highlighted by the dedication of the 2,000th NBA Cares Live, Learn or Play Center during NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
As part of the initiative, all 30 NBA teams will create new Live, Learn or Play Centers in their communities throughout the duration of the season. The projects will range from creating new education and technology rooms, basketball courts and play spaces to home refurbishments. Benefiting organizations serve youth, families, and members of the LGBTQ+, Black, Latinx and AAPI communities, among others. These new spaces will further the NBA family’s collective goal to create opportunities that help propel the next generation of leaders and provide support for historically marginalized communities. Additionally, the league will work closely with its regional offices – Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe & Middle East, India, Latin America and Mexico – to use the power of basketball to make a lasting, positive impact on youth and families globally. For more details around individual team and region projects, please visit the NBA.com 75th Anniversary hub.
The NBA will also work with Kaiser Permanente, the league’s official healthcare partner, on three league-led legacy projects. The first project will be unveiled in New Orleans today during NBA Cares Season of Giving, officially tipping off the season-long initiative. Working with Rebuilding Together’s Disaster Readiness and Recovery program – which has served New Orleans for more than 30 years by providing disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and long-term recovery support to families and communities affected by natural disasters – NBA Cares and Kaiser Permanente will refurbish the Livingston Collegiate Academy High School basketball court and repair three homes in New Orleans East in need of critical repairs following Hurricane Ida in August 2021.
Additionally, the league will dedicate the 2,000th NBA Cares Live, Learn or Play Center as part of NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland in February and an additional center in Los Angeles in the spring. Launched in 2005, NBA Cares is the league’s global social responsibility program that executes the NBA's mission of addressing important social issues. The first NBA Cares Live, Learn or Play Center was unveiled on Nov. 20, 2005 at Dual Language Middle School in New York City. Kaiser Permanente has supported the NBA’s efforts to build stronger, healthier communities since 2015 by partnering with the NBA on health-related content and year-round health and wellness programs, including through the league’s NBA FIT, Jr. NBA and elite youth development programs.