LANSING – Earvin "Magic" Johnson said he owes his success on the basketball court and in the world of business to his Lansing upbringing.
So the former NBA star called on a few friends and reached into his own pocket to help Lansing children go to college and achieve their dreams.
"Lansing was the greatest place in the world to grow up," Johnson told about 1,000 people at a fundraising dinner hosted by the Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club on Thursday night. "Everything I am came from Lansing, Michigan. Everything I will be came from Lansing, Michigan."
The 1977 Everett High School grad helped raise about $1 million in new donations for the Lansing Promise scholarship program, which provides tuition aid for students in the Lansing School District.
That figure includes about $200,000 from the dinner and $800,000 from Johnson and a handful of friends. Johnson kicked in $300,000 of that sum, and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores promised $250,000, the former basketball star said. Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley also coughed up $25,000, he said.
Johnson apparently kept those figures to himself until he had nearly finished his presentation at the Lansing Center.
"Lansing was changed tonight," said Kellie Dean, who chairs the Lansing Promise scholarship program. "I believe that we've launched a new era."
"I was speechless," Lansing School Board President Peter Spadafore said. "I was thinking it would be more like $200,000. This community is willing to invest in the Lansing School District. It makes me very proud."
