BOSTON (WHDH) - Celtics player Jayson Tatum caught young athletes off guard Wednesday when he made an appearance at the Holland Community Center in Dorchester.
Tatum’s foundation recently teamed up with Gatorade and Good Sports to donate equipment to benefit athletes at the gym.
Speaking on Wednesday, Tatum said it is important to give back and make sure every athlete has the same opportunity to succeed.
“Being able to be around kids, it’s just a lot of fun — their reactions, how excited they are, how excited I am to be around them,” Tatum said.
“It shows he really cares because he don’t got to do this,” said basketball player Caleb Lima. “But he’s coming out to the community to support and everything.”
Through his foundation’s partnership with Good Sports and Gatorade, the group is donating $75,000 worth of equipment to young athletes.
“It’s really fortunate for us because not every kid has access to all this,” said basketball player Josh Lewis-Guy after Wednesday’s surprise visit. “So, it’s really great that they could do that.”
“It’s very important to give back to the youth in my eyes…because I know how important sports and basketball was to my life,” Tatum said.
Good Sports CEO Melissa Harper said Good Sports is lucky to have the opportunity to work with athletes across the country in a variety of sports.
“But being founded here in Boston, players like Jayson have a really special place in our hearts,” Harper said.
Tatum said the goal of this contribution is to support underserved athletes in Massachusetts and in his hometown of St. Louis.
As the Celtics star gave some advice to young basketball players in Dorchester this week, he also took one request to heart.
“A lot of them wanted me to promise that we’re going to win the championship this year,” Tatum said. “I said I would do my best.
“There are a lot of Boston Celtics fans here, so that was pretty fun to hear,” Tatum continued.
Tatum said he hopes to expand his foundation in the future.
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