Star Celtics player Jaylen Brown expresses great concern for children and improving the Boston area.
Many came out to meet Brown on Friday at the Fenelon Street Playground of Dorchester. Along with Parks and Recreation Department of the city and Northeastern University junior Kaiya Santos, Brown is spearheading an initiative to rebuild the court.
Brown has had a packed summer. None of that, though, bothered Brown. Children wearing Celtics shirts delighted to see their hero and snapped photographs with him.
“It’s always about the next generation,” spoke Brown. “I know that sometimes as an athlete you’re taken out of these places and put in places where you forget about where you come from.” That’s something I haven’t done since I got here. As long as I’m here, these things will keep happening. This is just one small example of what’s going on in these places in Boston.
About twenty minutes outside of Atlanta, Brown comes from Marietta, Georgia. Just a few blocks from Franklin Park Zoo, he is redesigning and fixing the Fenelon Street Playground with his Red Bull money.
Next month the basketball court will be transformed into one with interesting zigzag patterns and multicoloured blues, orange, red, and yellow lightning bolts. Santos designed the thing. In the Red Bull “Get In The Paint” competition, participants were requested to present their ideas on future pitch appearance.
Santos told the Herald in March, “It really does feel great to know that my art is going to help people. I feel like there’s a big stigma around art, and people think it’s a little silly or useless.”
Brown’s community effort truly amazed Mayor Michelle Wu. She said that the Celtics fan favourite hosts an annual event at the Museum of Fine Arts to generate funds for social justice projects both in Boston and beyond the nation.
The mayor said of Brown, “I’m just always blown away.” “He’ll just show up at a court to hang out and make sure our young people see themselves in roles that are possible for them in the future.”
Since he joined the Celtics in 2016, Brown began the 7uice Foundation and the BRIDGE program with his family to help youngsters land jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math. The 7uice Foundation tackles other societal concerns and seeks to advance education.
Brown remarked of the Fenelon Street Playground, “Many of our young people will be playing and involved here. But this location also highlights what more has to be done here in Boston. We need more than just a beautiful court if children are to use. There has to be closing of Boston’s wealth disparity. We have to create additional opportunities, employment, and resources.