Photo by Matt Rochinski / bobcats.com

First Ward Elementary gallery

I had the chance to spend some time at First Ward Elementary School on Wednesday as the Charlotte Bobcats organization paired with Hands On Charlotte for the NBA Cares Week of Service. It’s always great to get out with Bobcats players, coaches and other members of the Bobcats staff and see their commitment to giving back to the community that supports them.

“What helps our children is to see that there are people that they don’t know and could be doing other things with their time, take the time out today to make a difference for our school,” said Michelle Price, the Communities in Schools site coordinator for First Ward Elementary School. “Long after today these kids will be able to see that the Bobcats came and did something for our school. That means a lot and shows that no matter where you are in life, it’s always a good thing to give back to others who are in need.”

Starting as early as 9 am, the Bobcats staff was hard at work doing landscaping around the facility, cleaning up the school grounds, fixing old picnic tables, painting a mural about the importance of being healthy and being active, and creating personalized bookmarks for every student to bring home with them.

“First Ward is considered a high needs school – one with high poverty and Title 1 here in Charlotte,” explained Associate Director of Hands On Charlotte Bob Young. “It does not have a lot of support from a PTA or any ongoing groups that might help out, so there were a lot of things that we could come in and do to be a lot of value to the students attending this school.”

One of the things that impressed me most was that despite the driving rains coming down most of the day, the Bobcats and Hands on Charlotte staffs didn’t falter, pushing on when the elements might not have been in their favor. The clothes were wet and the bodies might have been sore, but that wasn’t going to take the smiles off their faces knowing they were making a difference.

“It’s fantastic. You really come together as a team when you go through adversity,” said Young. “A rainy day is not the most adverse thing to come across, but it’s given us the opportunity to tighten up our coats and say we’re going to get this done. We’re working together as a team to make this happen.”

Following Wednesday’s practice, Alexis Ajinca, D.J. Augustin, Boris Diaw, DeSagana Diop, Stephen Graham and Gerald Wallace also took the time to come over and help out, finishing up the mural for the students and putting the final touches on some of the bookmarks.

“We have a lot of young males who say they want to be professional ball players when they grow up,” said Price. “What they get to see here is that it’s not all just about playing ball. The fact that these players actually take the time to volunteer and make a difference in the community, that means a lot.

“This is a wonderful partnership, and it doesn’t stop today. The Bobcats are going to continue to work with us through the school year, providing volunteers for various events.”

Judging by the commitment level of everyone involved on Wednesday, these upcoming events will continue to be a tremendous success.