Bender the Philanthropist

After a few sad articles and news, I thought I would lighten it up a bit and talk about a player who lost his career to a knee injury…But, seriously, there is light at the end of this darkness.

Jonathan Bender was selected 5th by the Toronto Raptors in the 1999 NBA draft. He was 18 years old and straight out of high school in Picayune, Mississippi. On draft night, he was traded from the Raptors to the Indiana Pacers for veteran big man Antonio Davis. Bender was dubbed to be the next Tracy McGrady, but he never lived up to expectations due to persistent right knee problems.

In 2006, he decided to stop rehabbing and battling the damaging right knee and called it quits on his short-lived professional basketball life, but his career was far from over.

Conrad Brunner of Pacers.com writes about Bender’s life after basketball and the philanthropic work he has done. Bender’s hometown of Picayune was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and he knew he had to do something to help. Bender says,

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“When I got everything down there and saw how everybody really appreciated it, it really made me think how far we were behind in that area. Since I was there anyway, I kind of put my foot out there and started doing the kinds of things I’m doing now. I’m a social entrepreneur. I’m able to make a living and help the people around me at the same time, so that’s great.”

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He hasn’t done just a “dog and pony” show but created a full-fledged entrepreneurial venture. He owns four companies all of which give back to the devastated region. His investment company seeks community re-investment opportunities; his construction company builds sustainable housing replacing flood damaged homes; his property management firm leases the properties (targeting displaced residents) that his construction company builds; and a realty company that sells these properties to qualified families.

According to one of Bender’s builders he says that not only is Jonathan doing great work but is providing quality (not cheap) homes. The builder says,

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“He (Bender) wants granite counter-tops, oak cabinets, quality flooring, nice light fixtures. I tell him he’s going overboard for rental property, but he says he wants it to look like something he’d live in himself.”

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I highly recommend reading Brunner’s article on Bender. It is quite refreshing and seems to me that Bender is not just putting his money up, but he is really involved in the running of his companies for the good of the area.