NEW YORK – New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis received the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his charitable efforts throughout New Orleans, the NBA announced today.  The award recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities.

Kaiser Permanente and the NBA are honoring Davis for his increased commitment to the New Orleans community and his efforts to improve the health of local youth.  Davis initiated the launch of AD’s Flight Academy, which hosts monthly events for various youth groups in the New Orleans area.  This week, Davis hosted his February event including a night of laser tag, bowling, arcade games and giveaways for 150 students from the Jefferson Parish Parks and Recreation at Laser Tag and Games.  Last month, he treated more than 100 kids from a local YMCA chapter to bowling, refreshments and giveaways, including surprise tickets to the following night’s Pelicans game.  In December, Davis joined teammates Ryan Anderson and Jeff Withey to host a shopping spree at Toys “R” Us for 75 local kids from Boys Hope Girls Hope, Raintree Child Services and Kingsley House.  The week of Thanksgiving, Davis, joined by his immediate family, hosted and served a holiday dinner to residents at the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope.

In addition to donating his time to youth outreach, Davis has led his team in its Player Ticket Program, spending $30,000 to send more than 3,700 underprivileged local children to Pelicans games.  His contribution and generosity encouraged several of his teammates to sign up for the program as well.

“Giving back to the community is very important to me, so I decided to do something each month to impact those in need.  I’ve always enjoyed spending time with kids and starting AD’s Flight Academy has given me the chance to reach kids from all around New Orleans,” Davis said.  “After winning one of the monthly Community Assist Awards last year and seeing Steph Curry win the seasonlong honor, I knew I wanted to do more.  Hopefully, I can collaborate with some of my teammates next year and make it even bigger; this is just the beginning.”

During tomorrow’s home game against the Miami Heat, NBA Cares Ambassador Bob Lanier and a Kaiser Permanente representative will be joined by Pelicans Owners Tom and Gayle Benson in presenting Davis with the David Robinson Plaque during an oncourt ceremony.  In addition, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will donate $10,000 on Davis’ behalf to the Audubon Nature Institute to support the Pelicans’ continued commitment to coastal restoration initiatives in the Gulf South.

In January, Kaiser Permanente became the presenting partner of the monthly NBA Cares Community Assist Award and a final 2014-15 Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award.  In addition to this program, Kaiser Permanente serves as the presenting partner of NBA FIT Live Healthy Week, which encourages fans to make a pledge toward healthier living.  Kaiser Permanente served as a partner of the NBA All-Star FIT Celebration during NBA All-Star 2015 and will team up with the league throughout the year to conduct 14 community health and wellness events annually across NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League markets.

To learn more, please visit www.nbacares.com/communityassist.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.