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Magic Players Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon and Dewayne Dedmon Team Up with the Magic and UnitedHealthcare to Fight Hunger in Central Florida

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

March 24, 2015

ORLANDO – In many ways, Victor Oladipo has become the face of the Orlando Magic’s basketball team with his steadily improving skills, his tireless work ethic, his above-the-rim acrobatics and his humble nature in deflecting credit to his teammates.

Oladipo also embodies everything that the Magic are about off the court as they attempt to make a difference in as many lives as possible throughout Central Florida. Right there in the Magic’s mission statement – “to be World Champions on and off the court, delivering legendary moments every step of the way” – speaks to the franchise’s purpose of wanting to be winners on the court and leaders in the community.

Oladipo proved his willingness to aid in both efforts on Tuesday. First, Oladipo went through a two-hour practice with his teammates. Then, later in the day, the standout guard joined 200 Magic employees – including CEO Alex Martins, GM Rob Hennigan, Interim Head Coach James Borrego and players Aaron Gordon and Dewayne Dedmon – and another 100 UnitedHealthcare employees to assemble Hi-Five Kid Packs for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Oladipo wasn’t scheduled to attend the event, but he heard about the plan to pack 12,000 bags full of food so that kids don’t have to go hungry on weekends when not in school, and he wanted to do his part. Oladipo not only hurried over from practice to assemble the food packs, but he also brought his mother, Joan, along to help out.

“I wasn’t doing anything today, so I just brought my mom with me. It’s all about giving back and when I get an opportunity to do that I just feel like it’s my duty to do so,” Oladipo said.

Working in assembly-line fashion, the 200 Magic employees and 100 UnitedHealthcare employees packed items such as macaroni and cheese, beans and franks, apple sauce, juice, chocolate milk, cereal and chocolate chip granola bars into bags. Sadly, one-in-four children in impoverished areas of Central Florida don’t have enough food to eat during holidays and on weekends when school is not in session. Martins was excited that the Magic could work with their partners to try and quell the hunger crisis that is a serious issue for far too many children in Central Florida.

“This is making a big difference in a lot of kids’ lives throughout Central Florida,’’ Martins said. “It’s hard to believe that one in every four kids in Central Florida will go home from school on Friday afternoon and won’t get another meal until they come back to school on Monday. It’s because of programs like this that they will get a meal over the weekend. With these food packs through the Second Harvest Food Bank, at least now these kids will know now that they can go home and have something to eat before school on Monday.’’

The Hi-Five Kids Pack Program provides nutritious meals to underserved children who do not have access to school cafeterias during the weekend. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida partners with elementary schools that have a significant percentage of student participation in free- and reduced-lunch programs. Last fiscal year, 42,917 food packs were provided to underprivileged children at 27 elementary schools.

Research has shown a direct correlation between obesity and hunger due to the limited availability of healthy food options. Households with limited resources often try to stretch their food budgets by purchasing inexpensive, energy-dense foods that are filling. According to the University of South Florida, nearly one in three children in Florida are either overweight or obese.

“It’s unbelievable that one in four kids go home hungry because there is enough food to go around for everybody and we need to do our due diligence as a society to make sure that everyone has enough food,” said Gordon, a prized rookie for the Magic. “From the moment that I joined (the Magic) I knew that they were a family-oriented team and an organization that takes care of the people that take care of them. The Magic keep showing that day after day after day that they care about making a difference in the community.”

This project is the latest in UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.” program, an employee-volunteer initiative aimed at preventing hunger and obesity, inspiring service and encouraging volunteerism. For more information about the benefits of volunteering and to find local opportunities to get involved, visit www.DoGoodLiveWell.org. Follow @DoGoodLiveWell on Twitter or “like” Do Good. Live Well. on Facebook.

Just like the players, Borrego left practice and brought his entire coaching staff to the RDV Sportsplex to assist in the packing of food for the underserved children in Central Florida. Borrego wanted to do what he could to help make a difference and he said he’s proud of the Magic for backing up its talk of wanting to help others.

“It’s a special time for our organization to give back to something that’s bigger than basketball and bigger than our organization,” said Borrego, Orlando’s interim coach the past 20 games. “This is about helping people and affecting the destiny of lives and no one does that better than the Magic. This is an organization that takes care of its own and impacts lives every day.”

Since the inception of the Magic Volunteer Program (MVP) in 2006, Magic staff, coaches and players have contributed more than 56,000 volunteer hours to the Central Florida community. Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw contributed more than 2,000 hours in community appearances to nearly 1,100 organizations throughout Central Florida, including public schools, basketball camps and fundraising events. The Magic are committed to the youth of Central Florida, serving more than 100,000 children annually with a focus on health and wellness, education, hunger and the arts. For more information on the Magic in the community please visit www.orlandomagic.com/community.

Martins, for one, was floored by the commitment of Oladipo, two other players and the coaching staff, would join other staffers on Tuesday to try and put an end to Central Florida’s hunger crisis. Oladipo, Martins said, exemplifies everything that is right about a group of staffers who want to make a difference among the youth in Central Florida.

“We’ve got the greatest group of guys on our team – very high-character guys and they understand the big picture,” Martins said. “Our players, just as much as our employees, want to help make our community better.

“This work is just an example of what Victor and all of our other players do throughout the year,” Martins continued. “Victor is a finalist for the Community Enrichment award that will be given out at the (Black Tie and Tennies) Gala on Saturday. It’s because he does things like this… He really wants to help people, as we all do.’’

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