MILWAUKEE — The NBA Foundation is helping support important community work in Milwaukee by giving a $200,000 grant to the Running Rebels organization.
Dawn Barnett is the co-executive director at Running Rebels. She says $200,000 goes a long way in helping young people transition into adulthood.
"We were so disheartened by hearing the phrase 'pipeline to prison, pipeline to prison,'" said Barnett. "We just refused to accept that narrative and that's where pipeline to promise was born."
Barnett says she and her staff teach young people "soft skills." But that also includes how to deal with conflict and how to manage money.
It's all about education and finding good career opportunities.
The NBA Foundation is hoping to see that success in lots of cities. It's given a total of $6 million in grants to 22 organizations all over the country. And Barnett says part of the grant process is collaboration.
These grants were announced Friday in honor of the one-year anniversary of the creation of the NBA Foundation. It works to reduce the racial wealth gap.
