Many of you might not remember Larry Johnson. But in the early 1990s when the NBA first came to Charlotte with a franchise called the Hornets, LJ was the face of the team. He was an exciting player, and funny - once dressing in drag for hilarious TV spots.

Those actions helped endear the Hornets to Charlotte fans. But what helped endear him and the team to residents who weren't basketball devotees was their generosity and community-mindedness. Johnson came to the aid of the area's failing United Way campaign in 1991 by pledging $180,000. He did owe $90,000 when he was traded but paid up before he left.

The announcement Monday that Michael Jordan and the city's current pro basketball team, the Bobcats, would give $250,000 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was a welcome return to the community-mindedness we came to expect from the Hornets. It's the biggest gift the CMS athletics program has ever received, and will help fund middle school athletics. The Charlotte Touchdown Club also donated $56,000 to help middle school sports, including contributions from the Carolina Panthers and the NFL Players Association. The Bobcats are setting an example for others to get involved in bigger ways to help with community needs.

The idea came from Jordan, the Bobcats' new majority owner, who wanted to find a way to help the school system, which had to make deep budget cuts this year when local and state governments reduced funding. The $1.25 million cost of middle school sports was cut from the budget, and school officials instituted participation fees for students wanting to play sports in middle school ($50) and high school ($100). Students in free or reduced-cost lunch programs - for which more than half of CMS students qualify - are exempted from paying the participation fee.

CMS officials told Jordan and the Bobcats a $250,000 donation would provide scholarships for more than 5,000 of those exempt middle school students and help cover much of the rest of the cost of the program. The Bobcats, with co-sponsor Fox Sports Carolinas, the team's TV rights holder, gave the entire amount requested.

"This was one of the options presented to us," said Jordan. "We took it because of the impact on middle schools and giving them the opportunity to play sports and as motivation for education as well."

Bobcats President Fred Whitfield said this gift is also part of a Bobcats move to become more involved in this community. "We have not been as involved as we needed to be" in the past, he noted.

Other groups should follow their lead. This community cannot flourish without that kind of active engagement.