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Community Leader
McGrady receives NBA's Community Assist Award for January
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Since returning from a knee injury, Tracy McGrady has given the Rockets a boost in the Western Conference playoff race.
The seven-time All-Star, however, is providing an even bigger assist off the court.
McGrady received the NBA's Community Assist Award for January after leading efforts to boost awareness about the war-torn region of Darfur.
The Rockets star will receive the David Robinson Plaque and a $5,000 donation from the NBA that will be given to the Tracy McGrady Foundation for the Dafur Project.
During a five-day trip in eastern Chad last summer, McGrady visited three refugee camps in central Africa. The Sudanese residents of the camp had been displaced from their homes in Darfur by genocide within the region.
McGrady is working with filmmakers to tell their stories, creating the documentary, "Not A Game," about his visit to the region.
He is also working to improve education for the refugees. During a school assembly at Auburndale High School in Florida, McGrady announced the establishment of the T-Mac Alliance. The project will work with other organizations in raising funds to build schools and train teachers.
The education initiative includes working with the "Stand Up For Darfur" humanitarian project, a program aimed at getting high school students to provide books and supplies for children in the camps.
