Cover Stories Jrue and Lauren Holiday Host First Annual Holiday Classic
NBA Champion Jrue Holiday and his wife, two-time Olympic gold-medalist Lauren, recently hosted their Inaugural Holiday Dual-Court Classic.
The Classic featured a celebrity basketball game along with a marketplace that consisted of Black-Owned businesses that benefited from the Jrue & Lauren Holiday (JLH) Social Impact Fund.
In 2020 as the NBA returned to action during the Pandemic Shutdown, Jrue pledged $5.3 million of his salary to launching the JLH Social Impact Fund: a grant program for Black-led non-profit and Black-owned businesses in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Greater Milwaukee, and Indianapolis.
Lauren expressed how the Holiday Classic is meant to highlight the businesses in the Marketplace. She and Jrue not only wanted to help sustain the businesses, but wanted to make the owners feel like they are family.
“When Jrue and I started the JLH Fund it was like get money out and make sure that we’re meeting needs and then we realized we have some pretty incredible grantees,” Lauren said. “It kept growing and kept feeling more like a family.”
Celebrities and athletes in attendance included NBA Champion Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans vice president of basketball operations and team development Swin Cash, former NBA star Troy Daniels, Hall of Famer Abby Wambach, R&B star Estelle, model Don Benjamin, and two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy. The event raised over $150,000.
Jrue enjoyed seeing the grantees together in one place, talking about their businesses to attendees.
“I think sometimes, especially in the Black community, it gets hard to get everybody together, but we also love us a barbeque, we love us a little party,” Jrue said. “It’s times like this where we get the grantees in one place where we get to know them as people.”
The Celebrity basketball game was team Jrue vs team Lauren with Cash and Estelle as assistant coaches. There was also a three-point shootout and a goalie challenge.
“I love their foundation, I love everything they’re doing,” Estelle said. “I know they’ve been putting their own behind it for so long … I’m here to support, this is what I pull up for.”
Over 20 organizations and businesses were at the Holiday Classic, including Pucker Up Lemonade, Shero Games, Play Black Wallstreet, and A Future Superhero.
“It’s amazing to see all these people here flourishing in their businesses by the help of Jrue and Lauren,” said Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Devin Fuller. “I know they’re faith-based people and they’re always trying to help people in every way possible, this event shows that.”
The Holiday Classic took place in August, which is National Black Business Month. Organizations like FundBlackFounders and The Kinship Advisors helped the JLH Fund support their grantees.
“We’re building the community into this opportunity to be exposed to these businesses and non-profits which will elevate them in ways they have not had exposure to in the past,” said The Kinship Advisors Founder and CEO and JLH Fund manager Alexys Feaster.
Milk and Honey Therapy was created by husband-and-wife duo Nicole and Nick Osbourne to make holistic mental health more accessible.
“We have a number of different products, we have our stickers which are feelings wheel stickers, it’s basically a mental health tool to help you regulate your emotions,” Nicole said. “We also have our therapy card deck which is a deck of 150 different therapy skills and tools.”
Pucker Up Lemonade has been a loyal vendor of the Taste of Soul, selling a variety of lemonade, infused water, and iced tea. When Jrue and Lauren visited her shop in Compton, owner Karneisha Christian introduced them to other business owners who were nearby her.
“They’ve invited us to their home. They always order lemonade for the holidays,” Christian said. “They’ve inspired us just with their passion to give back.”
Parenting for Liberation is a non-profit that helps parents learn how to raise liberated children.
“I’ve been in social justice work my whole life but then when I became a parent, I realized I wasn’t parenting in alignment with my values,” said Parenting for Liberation founder Trina Greene.
“So I interviewed all these Black parents and all their stories are in the book which is called Parents of Liberation as well.”
McCoy noted how seeing Jrue and Lauren give back to the community inspires him to do more philanthropy work.
“I love when athletes are doing things like this,” McCoy said. “I do a lot of charitable work … and now you have a guy, a peer of yours, a ballplayer is doing the same thing. It makes you want to strive to touch even more people.”