The National Basketball Wives Association (NBWA) and Morgan Stanley are teaming to donate more than 15,000 books to 5,000 students in under-resourced areas that are impacted by the current shelter in place orders.
The effort is in association with the NBWA’s Books & Ball program, which works with nonprofit First Book to close the gap on educational inequities in marginalized communities throughout the nation.
In addition, NBWA organized Spread Love Fest, a virtual party with MC Lyte hosting, and serve as DJ on Instagram Live. During the virtual party, the NBWA collected donations from partners, friends, and fans to help provide learning resources to families in need. The event generated $7,000 in donations that are matched by Morgan Stanley.
“The NBWA has always had the mission to support youth education and during this challenging period in our world, we wanted to do our part to ensure that as many students as possible have access to educational resources at home while many schools are unable to operate inside of their physical buildings,’ said Mia Wright, President of the NBWA. ‘We launched ‘Books & Ball’ earlier this year as an effort to give back to underserved communities and now that we’re experiencing a global pandemic we felt this was the right opportunity to use our platform to not only raise awareness but also to make an impact with the help of amazing partners like Morgan Stanley and First Book. Our goal with the donation of these books is to simply help fill-in the learning gaps and help students be successful during this unprecedented time and beyond.”
The partnership between NBWA and Morgan Stanely started at 2018 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles as a sponsor for the NBWA Women’s Empoerment Summit, developing into a trusted partner through All-Star Weekends as recent as 2020 in Chicago.
“Morgan Stanley applauds the NBWA’s commitment and dedication to youth education during this difficult time, said Sandra L. Richards, Managing Director, Head of Global Sports & Entertainment, Wealth Management with Morgan Stanley.” “Now more than ever, it is our duty to leverage our relationships and our resources to make a positive impact in the world, particularly in some of our most vulnerable communities. This type of work directly aligns with Morgan Stanley’s mission to re-invest in the communities of our clients and partners and we’re honored to participate in the program.”
