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Sacremento Kings forward Maurice "Moe" Harkless is putting up some major points on and off the court.
Earlier this month, the nine-year NBA veteran made a second donation of $25,000 to support youth in his native Queens, New York who are aging out of the foster care system.
"It really means the world to me to be able to have an impact on the city that raised me," Harkless told NBCBLK.
He first donated to this important cause in 2020, pledging $25,000 to support the Last Resort Emergency Response Fund created by New Yorkers for Children and the NYC Administration for Children's Services in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 28-year-old saw the inequities exposed by the pandemic –– particularly among young people aged 18 to 26 who are aging out of the foster system –– and got inspired to get involved.
"I came across the Last Resort Fund and it really hit me –– one, the fund being based in New York, the city that I'm from," Harkless told the outlet. "And two, focusing on the youth. That's always been a big passion of mine."
The Fund helps address the financial burdens placed on young people aging out the system who may not have close family or other resources to lean on while transitioning into adulthood. So far, the Fund has put $500,000 directly into the hands of roughly 1,000 young people impacted by the pandemic and foster system.
In a joint interview with the outlet New Yorkers for Children Executive Director Saroya Friedman-Gonzalez told Harkless: "I just think for our young people to know that someone from Queens, someone from their neighborhood, came back and all that you've accomplished ––
"You allow them to see that anything is possible and their dreams are possible with hard work. But it also reminds them that people care. There's a community of New Yorkers out there that have their backs."
Harkless replied that he was "one of those kids who just needed any opportunity" and "someone to believe in him."
Click HERE to read more on the work New Yorkers for Children is doing.
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