Pelicans’ CJ McCollum wins prestigious award

The PBWA mentioned three big projects when honoring McCollum with the award. These efforts do far more for the community than 20 points per game, though those help as well.

McCollum partnered with the nonprofit College Beyond to launch McCollum Scholars, a needs-based scholarship that provides eleven New Orleans students with $100,000 apiece to pursue four-year degrees. That’s $1.1 million directly into the community by way of investing in future leaders.

McCollum Scholars offers academic coaching services, mental wellness resources, career preparation, and internship placement to participating students. The educational advancement program aims “to close the education, literacy, and racial wealth gaps through access to quality education, and to create a pathway to obtaining a post-secondary degree.”

The CJ McCollum Dream Center located in the Westbank Boys and Girls Club of Metro Louisiana is another project bringing resources and pride into the community. Students can access new laptops and tablets, smart boards, laser printers, a library, virtual reality headsets, and a podcast studio in the new McCollum-funded learning center. It’s the third Dream Center that McCollum has opened, and the first in Louisiana.

McCollum’s work with the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition was mentioned last but is just as important to the star as any other outlet. McCollum visited the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center and Travis Hill School in New Orleans to talk to teenagers who have made mistakes but deserve a second chance.

It’s the first time McCollum has been honored by the PBWA but it is not the last time his work in the community will be felt by the citizens. That legacy will last long after McCollum’s playing days are over and this award is just another piece of evidence on how much difference one person can make.