INGLEWOOD – Earvin “Magic” Johnson will host his annual Holiday Hope event in Inglewood on Saturday, November 22 at Faithful Central Bible Church.
The event is scheduled to run for three hours in the parking lot of the church where families would be gifted food and toys donated by the generosity of donors and sponsors including Johnson’s Foundation, Feed the Children, Mattel, Cricket, Starbucks, and others.
“I’m inspired to give back because of my mother,” said Johnson, before the start of the event. “During Thanksgiving, my mother would make enough food to help other families in our neighborhood and my job was to deliver the plates so it stuck with me what was expected of me as a child and subsequently, as an adult.”
“We want to be inviting to this neighborhood. It is important that the families who surround this beautiful park have a tremendous Thanksgiving,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson, NBA Veteran, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Magic Johnson Enterprises. “Every family deserves to have a wonderful Thanksgiving where they can have a turkey, different food items and toys. This is a wonderful gesture, not just from me and Feed the Children, but all the local sports teams. They’re not just here with money and contributions but they brought their staff here to give back too.”
Johnson began his professional career in Inglewood while playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and noted the changes from the early 80s to today.
“When you think about where Inglewood is today versus when I was playing is totally different and is creating so many opportunities for entrepreneurs and creating jobs which is a wonderful thing,” said Johnson.
This is the third year the event will be held at the largest church in the city of Inglewood. The church is led by Dr. John-Paul C. Foster who took over after the retirement of Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer.
“One of my major initiatives for our church is to be in the community and impact families and being able to partner with Magic Johnson’s Foundation is absolutely phenomenal,” said Dr. Foster.
“We are honored to give back and I am so grateful for Magic Johnson whose team has been phenomenal and the sponsors because we can’t do this alone and to build a community we have to do this together.”