9 Things You Need to Know about the Warriors Community Foundation
The Golden State Warriors Community Foundation aims to help students, schools, and communities to thrive by supporting youth development and education. In this article, we look at the impact of the Warriors Community Foundation across the Bay Area.
1. The Warriors Community Foundation has provided $12 million in grants.
Possessing a sharp focus on education, the Golden State Warriors Community Foundation has funded groundbreaking projects across San Francisco and Alameda Counties with the goal of supporting educational equity.
2. The foundation has given local youth 15,000 free tickets.
By donating tickets in this way, the Warriors Community Foundation has entertained local youngsters, shared the excitement and joy of Warriors home games, and inspired the next generation of male and female athletes.
3. The foundation has funded the refurbishment of over 80 local basketball courts.
The Golden State Warriors Community Foundation is committed to providing local young people in communities in need across the Bay Area with a clean, safe place to play.
4. The Warriors Foundation supports numerous organizations in the Bay Area.
The organization provides financial aid to various local causes geared toward expanding access and increasing opportunities for students from communities that are underserved.
5. The foundation held an auction to help a lifelong supporter keep his home.
Lloyd Canamore’s passion for the team began when he was a young boy with his mother’s full support. She even allowed him to turn the family home in West Oakland into an homage to his favorite team and to decorate it from top to bottom in blue and gold. Over the years, the building has become well-known among Warriors enthusiasts and served as a local landmark.
Following his mother’s tragic death in 2019, Canamore found himself in danger of losing his West Oakland home, The Warriors House, a property that had been in his family for half a century. A longtime neighbor of Canamore opened a GoFundMe on his behalf, in the hope of raising the $350,000 that he needed to keep his home.
Hearing of his plight, the Golden State Warriors Community Foundation staged an auction in support of the cause, inviting fans to bid on a prize package featuring a variety of autographed items, including a signed basketball, jerseys, and sneakers, as well as lunch for four with the team’s head coach, Steve Kerr. The package, which was auctioned via eBay, raised $9,390, with all auction proceeds going directly to Lloyd Canamore.
6. In May 2020, the foundation announced its COVID-19 Impact Strategy.
Partnering with the Golden Guardians, the Santa Cruz Warriors, and the Golden State Warriors, the Warriors Community Foundation announced a joint COVID-19 Impact Strategy as part of its In The Community program.
As Warriors Chief Operating Officer and President Rick Welts explained, one of the foundation’s top priorities for 2020 is an ongoing effort to deliver COVID-19 relief. The foundation listened to the needs of Bay Area residents, responding with its Impact Strategy and proactively engaging with partner organizations to form a collaborative approach to deliver effective solutions amid the COVID-19 crisis.
With a long history of supporting Bay Area communities through charitable donations, volunteer programs, and corporate collaboration, the Warriors Community Foundation has established a reputation as an anchor institution contributing to the well-being of communities throughout San Francisco and beyond.
According to Melanie Moore, the foundation’s executive director and vice president of Community Relations, the organization has doubled its efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed its commitment to communities throughout the Bay Area, as basketball games resume.
The COVID-19 Impact Strategy has evolved to focus on four main objectives:
Supporting Golden State Warriors and the Chase Center’s game day and part-time employees
Supporting students and teachers in need
Supporting frontline and health care workers
Supporting local communities in need
7. The foundation pledged $1.5 million to game day and part-time employees.
In the immediate aftermath of the NBA’s announcement of its hiatus, the Golden State Warriors Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund announced an initial pledge of $1.5 million to support Kaiser Permanente Arena and the Chase Center’s part-time workers and game day staff. The initial pledge has since grown by an additional $500,000.
8. The Warriors donated more than 4,200 shirts under the Bay Area Unite initiative.
The donation to NBC Sports Bay Area will fund the production of 50,000 masks for local health care workers.
9. The foundation provided vital funding for the No Kid Hungry program.
The Golden State Warriors Community Foundation partnered with Williams-Sonoma Inc. to provide $25,000 in aid to Bay Area students. Golden State Warrior player Steph Curry and his wife, Ayesha, also offered a matching donation, effectively doubling the foundation’s efforts to provide up to 2.5 million meals to students across the Bay Area.
In recognition of the struggles faced by millions of families amid the COVID-19 pandemic—with many breadwinners losing their jobs—the No Kid Hungry initiative was launched to provide schools and local community groups with financial aid and expert guidance, as well as funding to supply millions of free meals to children throughout the summer of 2020.