The time is right. Mavericks’ Grant Williams gives back to his Charlotte community
Grant Williams always wanted his first basketball camp to be at West Charlotte High School because he grew up in the West Charlotte area.
“I remember being a seventh- or eighth-grader watching my brother win a state championship with (former Lions star) Kennedy Meeks and all those guys,” Williams said. “I have some of my best basketball memories here. I dunked my first basketball here. Even if one day I do a paid camp elsewhere, I wanted to make sure that I keep this free camp here at West Charlotte as a way to give back to the community.”
Williams went to high school in southeast Charlotte, leading Providence Day to a state championship in 2016 and a berth in what was then called the DICKS’ National Championship in New York. A two-time Charlotte Observer Player of the Year in high school, Williams became a two-time SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee.
After college, Williams was a first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, and earlier this summer, he agreed to a four-year, $54 million dollar deal before being traded to Dallas.
And this week, Williams finally made his dream of hosting a camp in his community come true. All the kids got in free.
“This is amazing, man,” Williams said. “I am super excited to be able to do things like this. We are fortunate to be in the position we are in, and we always have to remember where we started.”
Quest Nutrition donated $10,000 to support the Grant Williams Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote opportunities for young people through sports, financial empowerment, as well as mentorship.
The ultimate mission, Williams said, is to help foster thriving communities and help build generational wealth.
“(Quest Nutrition has) been vital in a lot of the community work that I have done,” Williams said. “They want to do things in the community and help inspire change. They have not only helped us by providing products for our camps and golf outings but being there for consulting purposes. They have been very communicative and receptive, and that is all we can ask for.”
For Williams, he wanted to start all of this earlier — his camp and his foundation — but his parents advised him during his rookie season in the NBA that it might be best to get his career started before trying to take on too much at once.
Now everyone feels the time is right. Williams will enter his fifth NBA season this fall and he is also the First Vice President on the National Basketball Players Association Executive Committee.
“My biggest passion has always been mentorship,” Williams said. “I have always been a very big advocate for mentorship because I understand that I have had some great mentors throughout my life. I wanted to not only make it my organization but a family organization. I have learned having the family that I have that everyone has their interests. So, the foundation’s purpose is to not only impact lives through mentorship but through financial literacy, technology and arts and culture.”
The Grant Williams Family Foundation offers various opportunities for kids in the Charlotte area and beyond. The Live to Learn mentoring program is all about providing kids with mentors in areas that they are interested in, and not just in sports.
One thing that Williams is focusing on is making sure that even the kids that don’t play sports get the same opportunities to live out their dreams. He has a created an endowment at Providence Day School for minority athletes. But he is also passionate about making sure kids that might not have had the same athletic ability as he has still had great opportunities, as well.
“The goal of the foundation in the next five years is to see it stand alone,” Williams said. “So far we have done a lot of the work on our own. We want it to run efficiently while also understanding that the program is making an impact and kids can come back and say that it truly made an impact on their lives.”
