Rashad McCants
At 6 p.m. Friday, NBA star Rashad McCants will speak about his mother’s experience with breast cancer at the United Baptist Family Life Center in Cleveland.
“I take it one day at a time,” said McCants, in a previous interview with BlackNews.com. “I'm grateful for everyday that I can talk to my mom or see her.
“I'm in the gym every day when I'm not with my mother,” he said. “I'm focused, I'm thankful for my health and I'm a strong believer that God won't give us anything that we can't handle. I love my mother so much because she taught me how to smile, how to be thankful, and how to appreciate life.
“She always taught me that hard work pays off,” McCants continued. “When I got drafted to the NBA, she told me to be the best player that I could be.
“Even though she's a strong woman, I realize that breast cancer is a disease that does not discriminate,” he said. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women and (African American women are) more likely than all other women to die from the disease.”
Then at 8 a.m. Saturday, businessman, music mogul and philanthropist Percy Miller “Master P” along with McCants and Urban Born founder Johnel Langerston will host hundreds of kids, ages 7-16, to a free basketball camp at Greenville-Weston High School in Greenville.
The mission of the Urban Born Foundation is to raise funds and create awareness for the lack of education that destroys the lives of inner city youth. By engaging the people, community leaders, celebrities and pro-athletes, financial support is given to the development of Urban Born youth centers and after school programs.
PChatman Cosmetics founder and owner Pam Chatman said she is very excited to be a part of this event.
“I do all I can to try and bring people to the Mississippi Delta and to Bolivar County to empower our children,” said Chatman. “I think this event is very important because it will help kids start thinking about setting goals early.
“These gentlemen have a story to tell,” she said. “I think its important that kids understand that it’s not all glamorous like they see on TV.
“Some of those celebrities struggled to get where they are and I am just truly grateful that they are willing to come and share their stories,” said Chatman.
Those attending the basketball camp will not only learn defense and offense on the basketball court but will be spending time in the classroom with life coaches learning valuable life lessons from true testimonies.
“This will be an experience these kids will remember for the rest of their lives,” said Miller, in a press release. “My basketball coach helped save my life, hopefully I can do the same for this generation.
“The purpose of the camp is to allow children to have the opportunity to exercise their bodies and their minds,” he said. “It is important to us to share with the youth that they can do both.
“We totally support what our first lady Michelle Obama is doing with her efforts in fighting obesity,” Miller continued. “This is just our way of doing our part. We try to spread the word of education and the message that just because you come from a low-income community, it does not mean you can’t strive to be better.”
“We want kids to start now setting goals and focusing on good behavior,” said Chatman. “We want kids to get all they can get. With the new year starting, we want kids to go to school and start their year off right.”
Urban Born helps to support at risk youth throughout the country with a concentration in Los Angeles as well as to help “bridge the gap between Black and Brown” by promoting peace within the African American and Latino communities.
To volunteer and/or make a donation, go to www.urbanborn.org.