New NBA All-Star legacy grants unveiled
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The NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee on Thursday announced three additional recipients of All-Star Legacy grants as Indianapolis prepares to host next year’s event. Each nonprofit will receive $50,000 for their Legacy Projects, bringing the total number of projects receiving funding to 24.
The legacy grants, which now total $1.2 million, are designed to support organizations through brick-and-mortar projects focused on improving the health and wellness of young Hoosiers.
The host committee announced the first 21 projects back in February 2020, when Indy was set to host the 2021 All-Star Game before it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The host committee said the original grant recipients all completed their projects last year.
“These investments and opportunities are the kinds of things that set Indianapolis apart as a host city, and it is only fitting that NBA All-Star 2024 will both create a lasting legacy on our young people across the state and a way to celebrate Indiana’s very special love affair with the game of basketball,” Rick Fuson, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Chairman of the NBA All-Star 2024 Board of Directors, said in a news release.
The new Legacy Project grant recipients include:
- Aspire Higher Foundation Inc. – Indianapolis – For completion of its RyZe Kitchen, a commercial kitchen to expose young people to information and experience with health eating and food preparation classes taught by local chefs.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County – For renovations of the gym inside the O.C. Carmichael Jr. Youth Center, including new flooring, new bleachers, a new scoreboard, and new LED lighting.
- Phalen Leadership Academies – Indianapolis – To develop the Falcon’s Nest Gymnasium at the new Sean Cowdrey Health & Wellness Complex through the purchase of flooring for a basketball court.
Additionally, the host committee announced a chance for Hoosiers to vote for their favorite Indiana high school basketball players, places, and moments through the Hoosier Historia arts project, with 24 selections ultimately being chosen.
The project is a partnership involving the Indy Arts Council and the Capital Improvement Board of Managers in Indianapolis. Fifty finalists were selected for public vote with the final 24 selections set to be announced on March 24 as a lead-in to the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals.
You can connect to the voting by clicking here.
Once the final selections are made, the Indy Arts Council will seek concepts from artists throughout the state. The artists will paint their interpretations of the selections on six-foot-tall basketball sculptures that will be displayed in downtown Indy on All-Star Weekend.