HEAT Encourages Fans to Vote for Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade is Nominated for 2013 Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award

MIAMI – The Miami HEAT is encouraging HEAT fans from around the world to vote for Dwyane Wade who is nominated for the 2013 Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award. The award recognizes the NBA player who best reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities. This marks the first time that fans will help to select the winner. Voting begins today and continues through May 17.

The 2013 Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award winner will be determined by fans and a distinguished panel of NBA judges, including past J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winners and NBA Legends Bob Lanier and Dikembe Mutombo. Fan voting will take place on a dedicated tab on the NBA Facebook page (Facebook.com/NBA). Should Wade win the award, Kia and the NBA will donate $25,000 to the Wade’s World Foundation.

Wade created Wade’s World Foundation to provide support to various educational, health and family service programs. In addition to these events, Wade and his family have been dedicated to giving back to the South Florida and Chicago-area communities through a variety of community outreach programs and donations since 2003.

This season, the Wade’s World Foundation supported a number of non-profit organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The nine-time NBA All-Star also continued to be an active voice in the promotion of fatherhood and family, most recently joining best-selling author James Patterson for a national online webcast to promote literacy among young people across the country.

More information about the Wade’s World Foundation is available online at www.wadesworldfoundation.org.

Kia is the Official Vehicle of the Miami HEAT. Kia Motors has been an NBA Cares partner since 2010 and a HEAT partner since 2006. In addition to the Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award, the league presents the Kia Community Assist Award monthly throughout the season to recognize players for their charitable efforts. Wade has won the Kia Community Assist Award three times (August 2004, August 2007 and during the 2010 offseason).

To learn more, please log on to www.nba.com/kiacommunityassist.