WNBA star Aliyah Boston volunteered at the 24-hour NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday.
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The NBA partnered with the Indiana Pacers and Million Meal Movement to provide one million meals for up to 400,000 families battling food insecurity with the 16th consecutive All-Star Day of Service.
For the first time, the event spanned over a 24-hour period. Beginning on Feb. 16, thousands of volunteers, including NBA and WNBA players, came together at Lucas Oil Stadium to make an impact.
Volunteers worked 90-minute shifts throughout the 24-hour period, assembling care packages at the 30 stations, which were staffed by roughly 12 volunteers at each station. Several big names stopped by to talk with volunteers, including reigning AT&T Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung and 2011 NBA champion Shawn Marion.
Big thanks to reigning Slam Dunk Champ @McclungMac for helping us hold down the overnight shift at our first-ever 24-hour #NBACares All-Star Day of Service packing 1 million meals for families in Indiana with @MMealMovement‼️ #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/BaYxNllP8Q
— NBA Cares (@nbacares) February 16, 2024
“The goal was to make a big impact and that is what we are all about,” said Nancy Hintz, executive director of the Million Meal Movement.
“So, 24 hours seemed to be the best way to go in order to accommodate everyone, and to make a really big impact for all the communities in the state of Indiana.”
The NBA launched the event during 2008 All-Star in New Orleans, two years after Hurricane Katrina, to help families in impacted by the natural disaster, and has grown every year since.
Last year in Utah, the league provided meals to local food banks and pantries. This year’s meals will go to food banks and homeless shelters in multiple counties across Indiana.
“I think it’s amazing to see the impact, the smiles, just the sheer joy that a community gets, whenever we’re (NBA) present in the market,” said NBA employee and event volunteer Nicholas Mutebi.
“It’s one of those moments where you look and say ‘wow, we’re really making an impact’ for however many thousands of people through this act of service.”
The packages feature foods filled with necessary vitamins and nutrients that a healthy individual would need.
“They are wonderful meals for all ages really, but particularly senior citizens that may not be eating very healthy, and so that is a nice meal to supplement with nutrients,” said Hintz.
Nearly a quarter of a million citizens face food insecurity in Marion County, mainly impacting families of color. The NBA and Pacers Sports & Entertainment remain committed to addressing the severe hunger problem throughout Indiana and the country.
“When you are looking at just children, the statistic is they say roughly one in four are actually food insecure, and we want to do something about that and the Indiana Pacers want to do something about that, and NBA Cares wants to do something about that,” said Hintz.
“So, this is kind of our way of kind of drawing a line in the sand and saying look, we really have to change this.”
