Lakers News: LeBron James Wins Offseason NBA Cares Award for I Promise School

LeBron James was awarded the NBA Cares Community Assist Award on Thursday for founding the I PROMISE school in Akron, Ohio, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

The award "recognizes an NBA player for his exceptional work and impact from the end of the regular season to the start of the next season."

In return, the NBA and Kaiser Permanente are donating $10,000 to the LeBron James Family Foundation 

James' foundation, in collaboration with the Akron Public Schools, created the first I PROMISE in late July for 240 third- and fourth-graders. The school is a public school, not a charter school. 

James told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in July that the mission of the school is to provide inner-city students with a support system and structure that will help them succeed in life.

"Growing up in the inner city, the numbers are always stacked up against you. So you didn't really know what was possible. I think what happened for me was that I got some mentors and little league coaches and some teachers that I kind of started to believe in. And they started to make my dreams feel like they could actually become a reality.

"... So I feel like this is the point where we can kind of get into the minds of the kids and let them know that we're here for them. And I think that's what kids ultimately want, they just want someone to feel like someone cares about them. And that's what we're trying to do here."

According to Max Zahn of Time.com: "Its out-of-the-box offerings include a long school day (eight hours); a 'support circle' for students after lunch; and GED courses and job placement for parents. All are driven by James' mission to help kids overcome what he faced as a low-income student in Akron, he says."

Students will receive a free bicycle to get to and from the school and will be given free breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the school day. And for students who complete the program, graduate high school and decide to go to college, James' foundation will pay for their tuition at the University of Akron.