Jrue Holiday might have left Milwaukee, but the impact that he made there in the local communities will forever be remembered fondly. The 34-year-old recently sat down with We Are Press for an exclusive interview, where he talked about a plethora of subjects. One of the topics that was brought up during this conversation was the social work he has done with his foundation. Holiday also opened up about the $5 million yearly donation that he started making when the local communities were reeling from the damages caused by COVID-19.
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The Celtics star pointed out that money isn’t the only thing that one can give back to the community. But in a trying time like the pandemic, money was the most important thing that families needed.
Holiday said that his foundation helped people keep their businesses afloat at a time when everyone was feeling helpless. However, he understood that he was still getting paid by his team when many people had lost their jobs. So the defensive guard felt responsible to donate to the people in need during such a difficult time.
During the interview, Holiday said,
“My wife and I decided to give up the rest of my salary for that year, which is about $5 million to Black and Brown-owned businesses and nonprofits. And we’re doing it for about four years now. So, it’s been a good journey. It’s been tough, but really just trying to give an opportunity for other people. Just like they gave me an opportunity.”
The beneficiaries of JLH Social Impact Fund have said that Holiday might not even realize the kind of difference he has made in their lives. For that reason, they will always be grateful to him and his family.
Darius Smith, co-founder of Black Space(an initiative that helps normalize mental health practices in Black and Brown communities through group therapy sessions), is someone who received help from Holiday’s trust.
He said, “To have Jrue and Lauren Holiday to have put the time and effort into Black Space goes a lot further than what they can even imagine. It just really means a lot.”
Dale Dowdie, founder of a website called BlackFacts, is another beneficiary and a grateful recipient of funds from the JLH Social Impact Fund. BlackFacts is a video platform with over 700 videos of important Black figures throughout history.
After initially seeing Holiday’s fund as just another act of pretense, he was surprised by the real effort that Jrue and Lauren were willing to put in to change lives. BlackFacts received a donation of $50,000.
Dowdie said, “The JLH Fund really helped us to encapsulate that and be concise about what our message is, know what our mission is, know what our priorities and principles are, and then share that with the world.”
Calling his platform the “Netflix of Black history videos”, Dowdie was proud to tell SI that schools are reaching out to him to license the content on his platform. In his own words, BlackFacts is on track to become a multi-million-dollar business, all thanks to the faith shown by Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren Holiday.
