The future site of the I Promise Village, a new transitional housing facility in Akron, Ohio, funded by the LeBron James Family Foundation. | Courtesy LeBron James Family Foundation

By expanding its mission, his foundation has embraced a holistic approach to urban challenges When LeBron James tells his life story, he doesn?t always mention fourth grade in Akron, Ohio. During that time, he and his mother, Gloria, bounced between numerous apartments because of financial hardships. The uncertainty of where he would be sleeping during any particular night, and the sometimes significant distance to school, made it challenging for him to make it to class. During a year when LeBron and Gloria moved a half-dozen times, he missed 83 days of school. Now, that part of his story may have an even more happy ending. The four-time NBA MVP announced plans to open a facility in his hometown specifically to help students facing a similar situation not just survive, but prosper.
Called the I Promise Village, this planned transitional housing facility, an outgrowth of James?s foundation and charity work, shows the Lakers star broadening the focus of his philanthropy. He?s already opened a school, and observing the struggles of students going through the same issues he did inspired him, says Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF).
?We found that students with more extreme behavior tended to lack stable housing,? Campbell says. ?We quickly rea...