NBA Cares is the league’s global community outreach initiative that addresses important social issues such as education, youth and family development, and health and wellness. Earlier this week, the Miami Heat and NBA opened the newest Learn & Play Center at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
The new center features high-tech learning tools – Samsung televisions, computers, printers and tablets – and a reading space stocked with new books and board games. During the opening celebration, Alonso Mourning, Miami Heat Legend, encouraged the kids to be active and take advantage of the new facility.
Since October 2005, when NBA Cares was launched, the league and teams have raised more than $237 million for charity, provided more than 3 million hours of hands-on service, and built more than 895 places where kids and families can live, learn or play in communities around the world.
The new Learn & Play Center at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex was refurbished in partnership with State Farm and Samsung. The Center will be home to local kids where they will have the opportunity to interact with their peers, utilize the new technology, improve their social skills and more importantly focus on their academic interests in a fun and safe environment.
During the dedication ceremony, Miami Heat players, NBA Executives and local officials were present to open the doors of the newly renovated center to local families in Miami. The kids present had the opportunity to learn & play alongside Miami Heat players and legends. Heat players, Chris Andersen and Norris Cole enjoyed a fun but competitive game of table soccer with the kids, while Mario Chalmers played UNO with a group of students. In the other game room, Heat Legend Alonzo Mourning and Miami-Dade County Mayor Gimenez, read a few stories to the children and reiterated the importance of education.
The kids in the Little Haiti community will not only have a new and safe place to play & learn but also see the importance of giving back to the community with this project. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the importance of being involved in the community and how the league and the Miami Heat have made it a priority to be active and contribute as much as they can. “For the NBA to see a team like the Miami Heat become so integrated in the community is just what we dream about in the league office,” adds Commissioner Silver.
For the Miami Heat, this Learn & Play Center is the 14th of its kind in South Florida as they continue to make a positive impact in our local communities.
To learn more about this center and many others in our local communities, visit http://www.nba.com/cares
