Mavs mark start of season, and school year, by donating technology and spirit kits to DISD schools
During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mavericks’ commitments to education and the North Texas community at large never waned and, in fact, expanded.
Through no fault of anyone’s, though, An important part of that decades-old relationship largely was missing: In-person connections.
Until Monday afternoon, that is, when players Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks ManiAACs, D-Town Crew and the team’s Drumline visited Obadiah Knight Elementary, albeit donning masks.
The reason for the visit was two-fold: To celebrate the Mavs Foundation’s annual commitment to Dallas youth and education, and to commemorate the start of a new season, including Tuesday night’s home opener against Houston.
“It’s good to be able to come out and use our platform to help these kids,” first-year Mavericks swingman Bullock said. “They see us on TV and on the Internet, but we definitely put smiles on a lot of faces.”
“It’s awesome,” Porzingis added of the ability to visit in person, rather than virtual events that have been necessitated by the pandemic. “I mean, the kids probably don’t even know who we are, they’re so small, but they just see how tall we are and they’re amazed by that. It’s good to slowly get back to normalcy. We still have to wear the masks and stuff, but at least we get to high-five the kids and have a little bit of fun.”
The Mavericks organization on Monday announced that it had donated over-the-ear headphones to all 80,000 Dallas Independent School District elementary students. After listening to DISD leaders to determine the district’s greatest needs, the Mavericks chose donations that would help close the technology gap and digital divide as many students return to in-person classroom settings, while others continue hybrid learning.
Mavs bluetooth earbuds and merchandise also were donated to faculty and staff as a thank-you for the tireless education efforts.
Spirit kits were donated to all 250 DISD schools, including Mavs pennants, basketballs and a custom jersey created for each school.
The Dallas Mavericks believe so strongly in supporting education and giving our kids everything they need to succeed. And technology is a big part of that,” said Katie Edwards, Mavericks senior vice president external affairs and Mavs Foundation president.
Edwards added that the spirit kits were designed to let DISD schools know that “not only are they cheering for us the court, but we’re cheering them on in the classroom.”
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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