Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young hosted 100 kids from the local Dryades YMCA and made a $5,000 donation to the organization as part of the NBA’s efforts to continue outreach and support to the community that devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“It just means a lot to me to be able to give back to the kids of New Orleans and see the smiles on their faces,” said Young. “When I grew up, I didn't have all this, so it feels good to be able to give something back.”

During a gym renovation in 2000, a major fire destroyed the historic, 100-year-old building which housed the Dryades YMCA. During the summer of 2005, Young went to visit the site to check on the progress of the construction, which was scheduled to be completed that autumn. He was so impressed with what they had done to rebuild he asked if he could come back to shoot the first basket through the hoop as part of the grand re-opening/dedication.

However, Hurricane Katrina hit and while the structure of the Dryades YMCA miraculously remained intact after the floods, the rebuilding was significantly stalled. Young then left for Georgia Tech in the fall of 2006 and the rebuilding continued.

On October 31, 2007, the NBA announced a league-wide, season-long effort to help in the on-going rebuilding of New Orleans. The NBA Cares initiative will feature all members of the NBA Family, including players, teams, the National Basketball Players Association, and all of the NBA’s media and marketing partners. Together, they will perform more than 30,000 hours of hands-on community service as all visiting NBA teams will participate in community activities when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Hornets during the regular season. In addition, the first NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service will be held on Friday, Feb. 15, 2008, when over 2,500 members of the NBA family will take part in a variety of service projects throughout the city.

NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have committed to donating $100 million to charity, providing a million hours of hands on service to the community and creating 250 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally-recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: UNICEF; the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.