Mercedez-Benz USA and Laureus Ambassador Chris Paul up for ESPN Humanitarian Awards
The US branch of our Global Partner Mercedes-Benz and Laureus Ambassador Chris Paul, have been nominated for the ESPN Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards.
Mercedez-Benz USA has been named a finalist for the Corporate Community Impact Award, recognizing a corporation that uses the power of sports to help advance a social issue, cause or community organization. MBUSA has been selected for their collaboration with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, improving the lives of young people living in underserved communities through sport. To heighten their collective impact, MBUSA and Laureus USA have launched the Model City Initiative in New Orleans: a targeted city-wide approach to strengthen communities through sport. As a result, 20 community organizations agreed to work together to increase access to quality youth sports programming. The investments in these organizations have yielded an average 83% increase in human capacity, allowing them to reach an additional 10,000 youth in 2015.
Laureus Ambassador Chris Paul has also been nominated for the Sports Humanitarian of the Year, recognizing an athlete whose continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a positive impact on their community through sports. Through the Chris Paul Family Foundation, Chris Paul works tirelessly to level the playing field in education, sports and community. In honour of his late grandfather, Paul established the Nathaniel Jones Scholarship Fund, which annually provides two full-ride scholarships to his alma mater Wake Forest. This past year, he helped open a newly refurbished Boys & Girls Club in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Watts — part of the $1 million commitment the Foundation has made to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country.
The winners will be able to direct a $100,000 grant from ESPN to the qualified charity related to the award-winning humanitarian efforts. They will be announced at the second annual Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards, presented by ESPN, will celebrate and honour leagues, teams, individuals and members of the sporting community that are using the power of sport to make a positive impact on society. The sports industry-wide event will take place at The Conga Room at L.A. Live, Tuesday, July 12.
