Aiming to empower girls and women through sports, education, financial literacy, and other initiatives; basketball champion, Angel Reese, recently announced the founding of the Angel C. Reese Foundation.
At the Variety and Sportico Sports and Entertainment Summit, the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball champion revealed her plans to start her own foundation with the goal of promoting equal opportunities for young women in fields where they have historically been underrepresented.
Reese is the “highest projected earner in all of Women’s College Basketball,” according to AfroTech, with an estimated name, image, and likeness (NIL) valuation of $1.3 million as a result of signing deals with companies like Coach, Amazon, JanSport, Wingstop, McDonald’s, and Raising Canes, among others.
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According to a recent press release provided to ESSENCE, “The Angel C. Reese Foundation will aim to foster equity for girls and underrepresented groups through innovative and impactful initiatives, develop practical solutions to overcome systemic challenges, and provide comprehensive resources that empower a new generation of girls to excel in sports and successfully transition to the real world.”
From August 19, the organization will provide girls’ basketball camps, financial literacy initiatives, scholarships, holiday celebrations, and ongoing community programming.
According to Variety, The Angel C. Reese Foundation will be launched at Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, where Reese previously attended.
The launch event will include a “Back-to-School Giveback Block Party,” where the foundation will provide children in need in the Baltimore area with school supplies, backpacks, clothing, food, hygiene products, and basic necessities of life.
Reese’s actions demonstrate that the NIL era is beneficial to both athletes’ communities and themselves. However, she is not the only athlete trying to effect change.
Earlier this year, AfroTech spoke to Chase Griffin, a quarterback for UCLA, who contributes a portion of each NIL deal’s profits to charity. “As a Christian, I feel compelled by my faith to give and to be in a position where I’m on scholarship and I’m earning money,” Griffin said. “I consider it a blessing to be able to be generous and to give a piece of all of my NIL deals to various initiatives.”
