For the month of August, Lakers staff teamed up with LA’s Best Afterschool Enrichment Program for a fun day of basketball and back to school giving. 100 kids from Monte Vista Elementary, Griffin Elementary, Hoover Elementary and Leo Politi Elementary arrived at the UCLA Health Training Center and immediately put on their new Junior Lakers jerseys, before proceeding to enter the gym and participate in a basketball clinic.
Meanwhile, Lakers staff worked upstairs to put together Lakers backpacks filled with school supplies, as part of a later surprise for the kids downstairs. Lakers staff grabbed a backpack and walked down the line, gathering notebooks, pencils, folders, markers, scissors, glue, pens, and pencil pouches for each child. Other staff created hand-written notes of encouragement that were added in each backpack, wishing the kids a great school year ahead.
As the basketball clinic wrapped up, Lakers staff gathered all the backpacks and headed downstairs to the court to surprise the kids with their new backpacks. The basketball court was filled with excitement, as each kid received a Lakers backpack and looked through all their new school supplies. This Team Up was so much fun for everyone involved, and the Lakers send best wishes to everyone starting a new school year!