Staples Center Honors Community Service
Former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar teamed up with Staples Inc. on Thursday to launch the Staples Community Stars, a program that recognizes people who perform community service in Southern California.
Construction workers stopped their work on the Staples Center to watch Abdul-Jabbar present the first community star outside the Los Angeles Convention Center to Evangelyn Nathan, a volunteer Big Sister since 1987.
“This is a thrill,” said Nathan, a judicial liaison for the Los Angeles Police Department. “It’s a very humbling experience and I appreciate Staples for the program they have.”
A second star was presented posthumously in honor of UCLA professor Albert Hoxie, a longtime mentor of Abdul-Jabbar.
“I’m very proud to be a part of the community star program because people who make a difference in their communities mean so much to the people they help,” said Abdul-Jabbar, now a volunteer basketball coach at Alchesay High School on the White Mountain Indian Reservation in northeastern Arizona.
Porcelain stars bearing the names of honorees will be displayed with 5,000 others near the entrance of the new stadium. In honor of the recipients, Staples will also make a $1,000 donation in each recipient’s name to a nonprofit organization of their choice.
Nomination forms for community stars can be picked up at Staples office supply stores and will be accepted through March 20. One person will be chosen from the communities surrounding each of Staples’ 74 Southern California stores. Stars can also be purchased for $155 each. A larger granite star costs $3,000. Proceeds go to the Staples Center Foundation, and will be disbursed to various charities and organizations in Los Angeles.
