From the fall 2007 issue of UConn Momentum
Emeka Okafor ’04, the 2003–04 National Player of the Year for the NCAA champion University of Connecticut basketball team, announced in September that he will contribute $250,000 to the Neag School of Education to support the Husky Sport Program in Hartford.
Operating at three locations in Hartford’s North End—Clark Elementary School, the Kelvin D. Anderson Recreation Center, and the Hartford Catholic Worker House— Husky Sport offers in-school, afterschool, and summer activities. The program uses UConn students as mentors in nutrition education and life skills lessons, and exposes Hartford children to a variety of sports and physical activities.
“Every child should have a mentor,” says Okafor. “I am blessed to be able to help the Husky Sport program continue to enrich young people’s lives and make sure the children in this program not only have a mentor, but are getting the tools they need to succeed in life. Nutrition and physical activity are the cornerstone of my life, and I feel strongly that young people should not only be educated about healthy living, but they should have access to opportunities that help them lead healthy lives.”
University President Michael J. Hogan says, “Emeka Okafor represented UConn at its best throughout his years here, as an outstanding student, a spectacular athlete, and an engaged member and leader of the University community. It is gratifying, but not surprising, that he would step up to support this program. We’re tremendously proud of Emeka, and proud of the contribution the Neag School of Education is making through the Husky Sport program.”
Clark School Principal Beryl Irene Bailey says students in the program have benefited tremendously and the program has changed lives.
“The students at Clark now benefit from college mentors who provide life skills and lessons in nutrition and physical fitness,” she says. “The UConn students have gone above and beyond.”
Husky Sport was developed four years ago by Jennifer Bruening, an assistant professor in the kinesiology department in the Neag School of Education. She says Okafor’s gift will be used to expand the program by increasing the number and variety of activities offered to the Hartford students and the quality and quantity of the time they spend with their UConn mentors.
A two-time Academic All-American, Emeka Okafor graduated from UConn with a finance degree and a 3.8 grade point average. He was the 2004 Academic All-American of the Year, the Big East Men’s Basketball Scholar- Athlete in 2004–05 and 2005–06, the 2004–05 NBA Rookie of the Year and a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. The gift is Okafor’s first significant domestic donation. He is also the spokesperson for the One Million African Lives initiative and the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, both of which are dedicated to ensuring clean blood supplies throughout the continent.
To support the Neag School of Education, please contact Abigail O’Brien at 860.486.4530.
