| Jamba Juice and WNBA, Together with Venus Williams, 'Team Up for a Healthy America' |
| Jamba Juice Company, a leading healthy, active lifestyle brand, launched their “Team Up for a Healthy America” campaign bringing together national partners in a united commitment to help raise awareness of our Nation’s obesity epidemic. Reinforcing their vision to inspire and simplify healthy living, the Jamba Juice “Team Up” campaign is intended to show America how pledging to make simple changes to eat more healthy and become more active can lead to an overall improved lifestyle.
Starting today and continuing through November, people across the nation looking for ways to enhance their exercise and diet routines, can log onto www.teamupandpledge.com to sign up and begin getting engaged. Everyone who pledges can earn the title of Ambassador of Fitness and win fun prizes. Sample pledges include activities such as “Shoot hoops with family and friends”, “Eat fruit for my afternoon snack”, “Skip the elevator and take the stairs”, and “Don’t pass on breakfast”.
Based on the achievement of pledge milestones, Jamba Juice will make a significant donation in support of partner sponsored initiatives that promote healthy, active lifestyles such as physical activity programs, school gardens, and nutrition education.
“Jamba Juice prides itself on being an integral part of our customer’s everyday healthy lifestyle choice and is raising the bar in the fight against obesity,” said James D. White, chairman, president and CEO, Jamba Juice Company. “Jamba Juice has taken a significant step in aligning our partners --and any other groups who may have an interest in joining us-- in an innovative awareness campaign that we hope will make a positive and lasting impact in people’s lives.”
Partners who have pledged to support the “Team Up for a Healthy America” campaign include Venus Williams and the WNBA. The first people to make their pledges were Jamba Juice team members, WNBA players and WNBA employees across the United States.
Venus Williams will serve as one of “Team Up’s” official spokespersons and has committed her voice to help inspire and motivate participants to become more active and healthy in their lifestyle choices. Ms. Williams is an internationally recognized tennis star and has won seven Grand Slam titles in her career to date. She recently joined Jamba Juice as a celebrity spokesperson and franchise owner. Ms. Williams celebrated the opening of her first Jamba Juice store in Bethesda, Maryland on July 6, 2011 and is expected to open four additional stores over the next two years in the D.C. Metro area.
“I am excited to play a role in getting America more engaged in healthy activities and believe that the ‘Team Up’ program is a meaningful way to help motivate our nation to get out and get active,” said Venus Williams, tennis star and entrepreneur. “I can’t think of a brand with more cache in the health and wellness space than Jamba Juice and that aligns so well with my goal to help inspire healthy, active living.”
“The WNBA’s ongoing commitment to showing the joy and benefits of leading a healthy and fit life align perfectly with the “Team Up for a Healthy America campaign”, said WNBA President Laurel Richie. “Our entire league is committed to supporting Jamba Juice in their effort to educate and enhance the public’s daily healthy activities.”
WNBA players who have signed on to participate in the Team Up for a Healthy America campaign include: Four-time All-Star Alana Beard; fourteen year veteran and All-Star Tangela Smith; 2009 WNBA Rookie of the Year Angel McCoughtry; 2003 WNBA Finals MVP Ruth Riley; 2005 WNBA Champion Nicole Powell; 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year Tina Charles; All-Star Candice Dupree; two-time All-Star Michelle Snow; WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month for June, Rebekkah Brunson and recently named one of the WNBA’s 15 Greatest Players, Ticha Penicheiro.
Fans and friends of Jamba Juice, Venus Williams, or the WNBA as well as other organizations interested in joining the “Team Up” campaign can find more information at www.teamupandpledge.com or by visiting Jamba Juice directly at www.jambajuice.com. |
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| Shock players, fans volunteer with Up With Trees |
| Members of the Tulsa Shock spent Wednesday afternoon working up a sweat, and it wasn't on a basketball court.
Elizabeth Cambage, Kayla Pedersen, Jennifer Lacy and Marion Jones teamed with several season-ticket holders and their children to help Up With Trees clean a Tulsa park as part of the WNBA's Green Week.
"We don't get a lot of opportunities like this to rub elbows with our biggest fans, so it's kind of a double whammy to get to do that and help the environment by doing what we can," Jones said.
Up With Trees is a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting, preserving and promoting Tulsa's urban forest. The Shock offered its services, and the group jumped at the chance for more volunteers.
"We have a very small staff, so we rely on groups that can actually come out in full force and can donate a lot of muscle power to tending certain parts of Tulsa," said April Hastings, Up With Trees outreach coordinator. "It's really wonderful to see a Tulsa team give back."
The players and fans worked on a park south of 21st Street on the west bank of the Arkansas River, pruning trees, adding mulch and picking up trash.
For 9-year-old Cheyann Parks, the event also provided an opportunity to get closer to some of her favorite players.
"I've had fun," she said. "I've mulched and cut the trees, and I've raked."
The project allowed Jones to get involved with something she is passionate about off the court - taking care of the environment.
"I do what I can at home by recycling, turning off the water, turning off the lights," she said.
The players got assistance from even the youngest fans Wednesday. Councilor G.T. Bynum's 4-year-old son, Robert, helped his dad pick up pruned branches.
"It's almost like they're passing on the legacy by bringing the young fans who watch them play," Hastings said. "They're kind of setting the standard that they not only enjoy Tulsa but they also give back to the city they live in." |
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| Phoenix Mercury to collect donations for tornado-hit Missouri |
| A strange text message from her mother on May 22 was the first indication to Amber Cox, chief operating officer of the Phoenix Mercury, that something was not right.
There was a "car destroyed" near the Flying J, a gas station about a mile from their Missouri home, her mother texted. And "we did not know it (a tornado) hit one mile north of us."
Cox, 37, grew up 30 miles away from Joplin, the "big city" to her 6,000-person hometown of Monett, Mo. Her family still lives in Monett, and tornado warnings were not unusual.
"We would have those warnings on a regular basis, but nothing of this magnitude," Cox said. "It's Midwestern protocol this time of year. You hear the siren, and you get to the basement."
Confused, Cox tried to call her mother from Phoenix, but phone lines were down. Simultaneously, scattered updates and photos began appearing on the news: A tornado had ripped through Joplin, killing and injuring hundreds. The storm had flattened most of the town, including the gym at Joplin High School, where Cox had played club basketball.
For about an hour and a half, she could not reach her mother. If panic could be measured on a scale of 1 to 10, "I was 10," Cox said. "I was frantic."
Much later that night, her mother finally sent another text message: "Our town is gone."
The next day at work, Cox bumped into Chris Mallory, community-relations manager for the Phoenix Suns. By chance, Mallory had gone to college at Pittsburg State University, about 45 minutes from Joplin.
"We said, 'What can we do? We feel really helpless,' " Cox said.
Temeka Johnson, a Mercury point guard, was the first person to approach Cox to offer her help. The Louisiana native had felt a similar pang when Hurricane Katrina struck her home state while she was playing basketball abroad.
" 'I know what you're going through, and it's awful to be this far away,' " Cox said Johnson told her. " 'I get it, so if I can do anything, let me know.' "
With Grand Canyon University, who often partners with both organizations, they quickly pulled together a plan to collect donations and drive them to tornado victims in Missouri.
Donations for the Drive to Joplin will be accepted between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday inside the Casino Arizona Pavilion at US Airways Center. Toiletries - including toothbrushes, detergent, shampoo and basic hygiene products - are in the greatest need because the tornado destroyed many local stores.
People can also make donations during the Phoenix Mercury's annual open team practice from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at US Airways Center. Anyone who makes a donation will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win autographed Suns merchandise, a pair of courtside seats to a 2011 Mercury home game and a meet-and-greet with Mercury player Diana Taurasi.
Organizers hope the donations will fill a semitruck, which will be driven from Phoenix to Joplin on Thursday morning. All items collected will be given to the American Red Cross, which will distribute the donations.
Cox said she has since been inspired by stories from Joplin, where volunteers have poured in to help rescue workers. She said locals, including her mother, have been "baking hundreds of cookies and doing laundry nonstop" for others who have lost their homes.
"I'm really so proud to be from the area," Cox said. "I think the way people have banded together to help each other out is just such a testament to the Midwestern, we're-all-in-this-together mentality." |
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| Shock Team Joins In Relief Efforts in Joplin and OKC Area. |
| Tulsa's WNBA pro basketball team, the Shock, have teamed up with the Salvation Army to help in the relief efforts in the greater Oklahoma City area and Joplin, Missouri following the recent killer tornadoes.
"Our entire organization is very concerned with what has happened to our region over the last week in Oklahoma and Missouri and we want to do our part in trying to help people in these areas that have been devastated by these terrible storms," Tulsa Shock President Steve Swetoha said.
The team's donation center has been set up at the Shock's Basketball Academy Facility, 8730 E. Skelly Drive (I-44 between 31st and 21st Street).
Request are being made especially for bottled water, personal hygiene items, toilet paper and bottled juice. All donations will be transported to Joplin and the great Oklahoma City Area by the Salvation Army.
Cash donations to the Shock Community Foundation will also be accepted with one hundred percent of the funds collected to be used to purchase items for families in need.
Items and donations can be dropped off at the Shock Basketball Academy on the following dates and times:
Saturday May 28: 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday May 29: 10 to 2 p.m.
Tuesday May 31: 9 to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. |
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| NBA to host Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge in India for the first time |
| Basketball Development Program to Reach 500 Schools across Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune
The most comprehensive Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program ever in India tipped off today in Mumbai with the first of a series of coaching clinics. Students from approximately 500 schools in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune will participate in the NBA’s international youth basketball development program that builds the game of basketball within schools and teaches its fundamentals and values to youth in a fun environment. This will mark the first-ever NBA initiative held in Pune as the league continues to expand in India.
The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program in India is being supported by Basketball Federation of India (BFI), HP, Spalding, and Ten Sports.
“The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program will not only provide access to basketball for thousands of children across the country, but will help develop quality coaches who can become ambassadors for our sport,” said NBA India Senior Director of Development, Akash Jain. “We believe this program is a logical next step in our commitment to growing the game in India, and thanks to the support of our partners we will be reaching a large number of players and coaches in five major cities, including our first NBA event in Pune.”
At the core of the program is the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge, a competition for boys and girls ages 10 to 12 that tests participants’ abilities in various basketball fundamentals, including dribbling, passing, and shooting. Local Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA coaches will implement the first round of competition in approximately 100 schools in each of the five cities. Four winners from each school – two girls and two boys – will move on to compete in a citywide competition of 400 participants with 10 winners from each city (5 boys and 5 girls) moving on to compete in front of an NBA star at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge on May 14. One boy and one girl will be crowned Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge Champions and will each win an all expenses paid trip to New York City where they will have the opportunity to train with an NBA coach, visit NBA league headquarters and historic landmarks throughout the city.
In order to provide coaches necessary resources to establish a consistent and sustained basketball curriculum in schools, the NBA has partnered with the BFI and HP to distribute a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA ‘Basketball in a Box’ kit to 500 schools across India. This box will include a coaching guide customized for India, a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge overview, clipboard, stopwatch, basketballs, and other equipment. Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA coaches will learn about fundamental skill development at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge from NBA coaches at two-day coaching clinics that will be held in each city to tip off the program.
As official partner of the Jr. NBA/Jr.WNBA Skills Challenge, HP will award HP Mini Notebook laptops to each of the National Skills Challenge winners and to the top coach in each city. HP Dream Screens will be integrated within all coaching clinics to show instructional videos and teaching materials.
“HP has enjoyed partnering with the NBA for over two years and we are excited about the Jr. NBA program because it will help us drive a stronger connection with India’s promising youth through the adrenaline rushing game of basketball,” said HP India Chief Marketing Officer, PSG, Ranjivjit Singh. “The NBA and HP will take the enthusiasm for the event to a different level by taking two lucky winners of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge to New York for a once-in-a-lifetime NBA experience. In line with HP’s commitment of superior experience, enhanced value and excitement, we are certain that Jr. NBA will be a thrilling ‘Slam Dunk’ experience this summer for youngsters.”
Ten Sports and Spalding will also serve as partners for the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA India program. Ten Sports will create promotional spots encouraging participation across all cities and will produce special content around the event which will air on its channels. Spalding will provide equipment for the ‘Basketball in a Box’ and supply basketballs for all clinics and competitions. The BFI is the NBA’s core logistics and operations partner for the program.
Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge participants and coaches will be able to keep up with their competition by visiting NBA.com India, which will include program information, coaching and player guides, training videos, and player highlights.
The first Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program staged in India was the 2008 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Hoops School in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. The five-week program included coaching and youth clinics and tournaments conducted at between 20 and 25 schools in each city. Additionally, coaching guides and posters were distributed throughout the country, reaching more than 500,000 youth.
The NBA first visited India in 2008 when it staged its Basketball without Borders program in New Delhi. Since then, the NBA’s presence in the country has grown significantly through grassroots development programs and large-scale fan events. In addition to the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Hoop School held in 2008, NBA Jam, the league’s interactive, touring property, was held in 2009 and 2010 bringing the excitement of the NBA to fans across India. The league launched the first season of the Mahindra NBA Challenge, a community-based basketball league, in 2010 and expanded it to include leagues in five cities in 2011, making it the largest grassroots basketball program in India in its second season. The NBA has also refurbished four basketball courts in India through NBA Cares, the league’s global social responsibility platform. |
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