Giannis Antetokounmpo and his wife, Mariah Riddlesprigger, announced their new charity on Wednesday called “Powering Milwaukee Forward.” They launched the $1 million relief effort through their “Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation (CAFF)” with help from GE Healthcare.
The $1 million program will provide vital resources for housing, healthcare, education, food security, and safe recreational areas. To achieve this goal, they have partnered with 10 local nonprofits. For this reason, they both believe that everyone should have the chance to not just survive but also flourish.
During the launch, the Milwaukee Bucks star spoke about the reason behind the charity.
“Growing up, we had people that helped us,” Giannis said. “We had programs and organizations that came in our life to provide diapers in our family, to provide food, allowed me to have a little bit of better education, me and my brothers. So, they made a difference in our life and I know that at the end of the day, that money matters, and having these million dollars can make a change, but it should not matter. Everybody should be available to have access, to basic needs. I’m happy that we are taking this initiative… I think by doing this, we allow people to have that access to education, food, healthcare and people should thrive in this community.”
Great to spend some time with @Giannis_An34, his family, partners like Milwaukee County Executive @DavidCrowleyWI, and community organizations to launch Powering MKE Forward!@GEHealthCare and its foundation along with the Charles Antetokoumpo Family Foundation will be great… pic.twitter.com/11bQDrWvis
— Cavalier Johnson (@CavalierJohnson) October 18, 2024
The two-time MVP stated that he decided to hold the charity drive in Milwaukee because he views the city as his home.
“Why Milwaukee? Milwaukee took a chance on me and my family,” he added. “I thrive in this community and I call this community home. I want to make a difference in this community moving forward.”
When did Giannis Antetokounmpo launch the CAFF?
Together with his family, Giannis Antetokounmpo launched the CAFF in June 2022. This was to honor their late father, Charles Antetokounmpo. In an interview with Hasan Minhaj in his appearance at “The Daily Show” in 2023, he spoke about the story that led him to open the foundation.
“It’s been six years now that my dad has passed away,” Giannis said. “It’s in honor of him — as I’ve said in the past and I’ve said a lot of times, he had no money. He was poor, he came from Nigeria to have a better life and we were his legacy. I could feel, growing up, he was the richest person in the neighborhood. Because he always felt rich because he had us.”
“We decided as [a] family, to come together and build this foundation to basically, just do what people did for us. Just put our had out there and give them an opportunity to be great in whatever they decide to do and help them.”
"We decided as family to come together and build this foundation to [give people] the opportunity to be great." Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) on his family and starting the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation pic.twitter.com/W0jGNZ0uQV
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 2, 2023
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