Despite being only three years into his NBA career, Trail Blazers guard Pat Connaughton has already made giving back to the community a major priority. His recently established not-for-profit With Us has blossomed into a multi-faceted organization reaching kids across the country. On a recent warm Wednesday in March, as part of its ongoing mentorship program, Connaughton’s foundation hosted a group of local kids for a night of bowling and fun.
The With Us Foundation’s mission is to provide access to athletics for kids and help them translate their success in sports to other life skills. “Athletics have obviously played a huge role in my life, but I’ve seen them play a huge role in other people's lives that aren't pro athletes or Division 1 college athletes,” said Connaughton. “The things that they teach within the sport can drain out into other things in life and school."
Still only a couple years old, the With Us Foundation has already hosted events ranging from basketball camps, to mentorship programs, to leadership training seminars, with plans for more in the future. Connaughton brings his charity on the road, whether he’s interacting with kids in Portland between Blazers games, visiting family in his hometown in Massachusetts, or working with kids in South Bend, Indiana where he went to college at Notre Dame. But the one thing that doesn’t change is the mission, which Connaughton says is to “show [kids] that there are people out here who care for them and want to see them succeed. I wanna try to help them along the way and have an impact on their lives that they'll remember for years and years to come.”
Though new, With Us is already having that impact. Connaughton says he’s seen the changes most clearly in teenagers: “At that age you start to think about things that you wanna do with your life, your career. We've kinda seen that type of positive impact.” Connaughton also cites Coach Michael Crotty Jr., Director at the With Us Foundation, as having a significant impact on kids, especially at training camps. Connaughton’s connection with Crotty goes back to his time playing for the Middlesex Magic, an AAU team where Crotty and his father coached Connaughton at a teenager.
Whatever the end result, Pat says With Us exists to help kids foster a successful future, with sports just as a path to achieve their dreams. “The cool thing about that is, your dreams may not be to be a professional athlete,” says Connaughton. “That's what we're trying to do with With Us: athletics is just a vehicle. However you want to use that vehicle is up to you. Our goal is to open up those doors for as many kids as possible.”
For more information about With Us, visit https://withusfoundation.com/.