NBA star and activist Kyrie Irving has donated $50,000 to a fundraiser launched to assist the creation of a youth heart honoring the legacy of Tamir Rice.
Practically a decade after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police, his identify continues to echo, not as a headline however moderately a name to motion. This week, NBA star level guard Kyrie Irving answered that decision with a strong donation of $50,000 to the Tamir Rice Basis, bringing a grassroots fundraiser to over $85,000, an enormous step nearer to its $110,000 purpose.
The marketing campaign, launched on June 9 by Tamir’s mom, Samaria Rice, was created to honor what would have been Tamir’s twenty third birthday. The GoFundMe marketing campaign was designed to assist additional develop a constructing she bought in Cleveland as an area for youth enrichment, asking donors to offer $23 in honor of the 23 years her son would have lived had he not been gunned down by police.
“I miss my son a lot every day,” Samaria wrote on the fundraiser web page. “As our household approaches Tamir’s twenty third birthday, I’m asking for 23 {dollars} for 23 years with out him. I bought a constructing within the metropolis of Cleveland to offer again to our inner-city youth with artwork and cultural developments.”
Tamir Rice was simply 12 years previous when he was tragically shot and killed by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann whereas taking part in in a park with a toy gun in 2014. The killing sparked nationwide outrage and have become a heartbreaking image of police brutality towards Black youngsters.
Now, just a little over a decade later, Samaria Rice is working to show that ache into goal by means of the Tamir Rice Basis.

“I’ve already invested into this lovely historic constructing with [all your] assist,” Rice continued. “The provide help to all have already got given Tamir’s legacy we’re endlessly appreciative. We now have a brand new workforce to assist us comply with this by means of. I’m virtually completed. I cannot let my group down or anybody who believes within the imaginative and prescient. Belief me—you will note the outcomes.”
Irving’s donation, made on June 25, is the most important obtained thus far, however it’s common for Irving, who’s been placing his cash the place his mouth is for years. From standing in solidarity with Eric Garner’s household by sporting an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt again in 2014, to supporting Indigenous communities, HBCUs, and social justice actions, giving again is who he’s.
Kyrie Irving’s newest act of generosity follows information that the New Jersey-bred level guard opted out of his earlier deal and is anticipated to signal a three-year, $119 million contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks, a workforce he helped result in the NBA Finals final season earlier than falling to the Boston Celtics. The brand new deal will maintain the purpose guard in Dallas for a further three years when he can activate a participant possibility for the 2027-28 season, based on sources. Irving is presently nursing an ACL harm suffered over the last NBA season.
Kyrie could also be sidelined with an ACL harm, however clearly, the work hasn’t stopped. And neither has Samaria Rice.
With just below $25,000 left to lift, this marketing campaign is greater than a fundraiser; it’s a group name to motion to honor Tamir by constructing one thing for the following era that lasts, and due to Kyrie Irving, that imaginative and prescient is one step nearer to turning into actual.

SEE ALSO:
10 Years Later: Remembering Tamir Rice
Remembering Tamir Rice On His Birthday