That model would be similar to the foundation’s Teacher Support Network fund, which helps provide school supplies for staff to help them avoid spending their own money on needs. Stensland said the Play Every Day initiative grew out of the work on the support network, as they heard from staff about the “other needs” at schools, including physical education equipment.
Giving each school its own budget to spend helps avoid the foundation needing to identify what needs are there.
“I’m not going to come in and decide every school must need 500 basketballs,” she said. “We could do that, we could source things and deliver them but maybe they don’t need that, maybe they need something else. We want to give every school that agency, that decision making power to use the funds that their school community needs the most.”
Matthews, once again pointing to his soccer experience while in school, said that he has developed friendships while in the NBA with stars like Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo through a mutual interest in the game.