ORLANDO – The holiday season is centered around tradition. For the Orlando Magic, no tradition is more sacred than their annual Thanksgiving breakfast at the Coalition for the Homeless.
For the 27th straight year, the Orlando Magic, including Magic CEO Alex Martins, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, Head Coach Steve Clifford, Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw, staff members and volunteers, served breakfast to over 750 homeless men, women and children at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.
“This has become a really sacred tradition for the Orlando Magic,” Magic CEO Alex Martins explained. “For twenty seven years now, we’ve been here at the Coalition for the Homeless, and supporting the Coalition for the Homeless over the course of the year. It’s really important. They’re one of our neighbors, we’re just two blocks away from the Amway Center, and they provide an incredible resource and service to our community that’s unfortunately needed.”
Clifford sponsored Thursday’s meal of eggs, sausage, potatoes, bread, cereal, granola bars, juice and milk, and helped serve those items to homeless families throughout the morning.
“It’s just a small way to have a chance to give back and to help out with the organization,” Clifford said. “It’s a way to help out and show thanks to other people.”
Over the 27-year span, Coalition CEO John Hearn calculated that the Magic have served over 60,000 eggs, 6,000 pounds of potatoes and 30,000 cups of coffee. The continued support by Orlando’s NBA franchise has provided an astounding assist to an organization that helped re-home over 1,500 people last year.
“For our folks here to see the community, especially the Magic, coming in to serve and to help them, it’s just tremendous,” Hearn said. “We live by the community support that we have and the Magic have been a key player in that since the time they’ve been here.”
Players' families were also on-hand to volunteer, including Aaron Gordon’s parents, Ed Gordon and Shelly Davis Gordon, as well as Markelle Fultz’ mother, Ebony Fultz.
“We always talk about not just having good players, but good people – that’s how we believe that we’re going to win – that are going to serve others, serve their teammates, serve each other,” Weltman explained. “That starts with their families, they don’t just come to that, they were raised that way. So to have their families involved with the Magic families, it’s a great way for all of us to be together and help.”
Following the breakfast, the Magic also hosted a special carnival for children, which included guest appearances by the 321 Hype and 407 entertainment teams, pop-a-shot, a bounce house, games, caricatures, face painting, balloon art and a live DJ.
The breakfast was just one of several initiatives the Magic engaged in to help those in need this holiday season. Recently, Gordon, Fultz and D.J. Augustin partnered with the Magic and Amway Corporation to distribute 475 Thanksgiving meals for underserved families in Central Florida. Jonathan Isaac also contributed to the purchasing of the meals.
“Orlando is a very special place, I’ve been a lot of places and it usually takes a while to feel that you’re growing into a community, but it’s very quick here,” Weltman said. “People are very warm, they’re open, they want to help themselves and they allow you a way in to help that happen. It’s really a special situation.”
On an annual basis, the Magic give more than $2 million to the local community by way of sponsorships of events, donated tickets, autographed merchandise and grants. Orlando Magic community relations programs impact an estimated 100,000 kids each year, while a Magic staff-wide initiative provides more than 7,000 volunteer hours annually. In addition, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF), which serves at-risk youth, has distributed more than $24 million to local nonprofit community organizations over the last 29 years.
“There’s no spirit or chemistry within an organization like we have here, and that’s totally set by the DeVos family,” Clifford said. “The tone they set, the way they care about everything from how we play, how we represent, how we work in the community, and it makes it a much more enjoyable and pleasing place to work.”
And on top of that, an even more special place to live.