Teaming up for charity
‘Tis the season to give back. And it’s the first time State Farm® brings professional athletes Aaron Rodgers and Chris Paul together, teaming up for charity.
The Challenge
Working with trick shot experts, @DudePerfect, Rodgers and Paul are challenging each other to bring their best trick shot to benefit a charity of their choice. The #TrickShotChallenge asks us all to do something amazing for our favorite charities during the holidays.
Giving Back
For Rodgers, it’s the work of the Midwest Athletes Childhood Cancer Fund (MACC). The MACC has worked diligently for 39 years to “cure cancer out of existence”.
For Paul, family has always been a priority. To honor his late grandfather, Chris launched a foundation to provide youth with academic and athletic scholarships.
The Charities
The MACC Fund
Former Bucks player Jon McGlocklin formed the MACC Fund in 1976. McGlockin’s good friend and iconic Bucks radio announcer, Eddie Doucette, had a toddler son, Brett, who was battling leukemia. The MACC Fund’s research and support has made an impact on the treatment of children. Thanks in part to the organization’s good work, the five-year cancer survival rate has improved from 20 percent to 80 percent today.
“When Eddie and I started the MACC Fund, we never thought down the road, nearly 40 years, and certainly never dreamed of contributing more than $55 million,” said McGlocklin, the MACC Fund President and Co-Founder. “We just wanted to help kids like Brett have a chance to live.”
[Brett Doucette with his Doctor, Dr. Jim Casper – 2010]
Brett Doucette was one of the organization’s first success stories. He was able to beat leukemia and is now an adult with a young family of his own. And because his family allowed the organization to spotlight the difficult time they were going through, many other families have since been able to help their children become cancer free.
The Chris Paul Family Foundation
The Chris Paul Family Foundation works to support projects in communities throughout Louisiana, California and North Carolina, including:
- Building homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity;
- Providing reading eye glasses for young children whose families do not have the financial means to provide them;
- Packaging weekend meals for elementary aged students who qualify for free or reduced meals during the week days;
- And offering free prom dresses to young girls who lack the financial resources to purchase them.
One young boy who is a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Watts, CA, experienced great joy and excitement when he saw the Chris Paul Family Foundation had renovated the Club. The renovation included a technology lab with computers for young students.
[Boys and Girls Club of Watts new computer lab]
Check out Rodgers and Paul’s trick shots here: