Donovan Mitchell Invested $250K Of His First Million Into His Foundation To Uplift Students Through Education And Sports – AfroTech
Donovan Mitchell’s first NBA check paid it forward in numerous ways.
The New York native was drafted in 2017 as a 13th overall pick in the first round by the Denver Nuggets, according to Basketball Network. Before that, he attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, NH, where he led the school to two national championships during his final two years, before attending the University of Louisville, per USA Basketball.
Mitchell had always been obsessed with sports, especially basketball, as he penned in the Players’ Tribune. His mother also played a key role in supporting his passion. When he dunked his first basketball, he sprinted across the parking lot to tell her, and she was also the one who drove him across the East Coast for years so he could play.
“My mom used to drive me all over New York City and New Jersey on the weekends to play in AAU tournaments. Her and my sister really sacrificed everything, and I feel so bad now because 75% of the time I’d be asleep in the backseat, and then I’d wake up in the parking lot of a gym in the Bronx or in Brooklyn or somewhere, ready to play. My mom probably put like 500,000 miles on that old Toyota Camry,” he wrote in the Players’ Tribune.
His family’s sacrifices paved the way for his foray into the NBA, which he said had been the “ultimate goal” in conversation with GQ Sports. It’s no surprise Mitchell allocated a portion of his first $1 million to both his mother and sister. His rookie contract was a four-year deal worth $14.6 million, according to Spotrac.
In an interview with GQ Sports, he revealed he set aside $300,000 to go toward his sister’s college tuition and purchased a Jeep Sahara for her, which cost $60,000.
“The next thing I think for me was to save some money for my sister’s college tuition, $300,000 right there. Fortunately, she was able to play lacrosse … but I was able to make sure I have that money set aside for her. Next purchase, I got my sister a car, so I made sure my sister was set … She’s always wanted a Jeep,” Mitchell, who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, told GQ Sports.
He also purchased his mother a home ($250,000) and a car (a $50,000 Audi).
Paying it forward went beyond his family as well. Nicknamed “Spida” since childhood due to his spider-like reach as a player, he committed $250,000 to his non-profit foundation, SPIDACARES. According to its website, it supports youth through grants and scholarships for education and athletic programs.
His mother leads the foundation, Andscape reports.
“We have the scholarship program where we bring Black and brown children who may not have the finances to go to private school and bring them there through basketball,” he wrote in a diary entry from the Cavaliers’ team hotel, according to Andscape. “We’ve also sent kids to college and paid their tuition. A lot of it is teachers, but it’s also students and giving kids the opportunity, especially minority kids. The opportunity to go out there and say, ‘Hey, you are right down the street from a whole different world.’ That’s how I grew up.”
