LANSING, Mich (WLNS) –
Michigan State University basketball legend and Lansing native, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, made a couple of stops in Michigan this weekend.
A few of those included Flint and Detroit to deliver food and gifts for families in need this holiday season.
And today, he was in his old stomping grounds, as he helped shower Lansing families with gifts at Everett High School.
Johnson said, “Every step of the way somebody from Lansing helped me and so it’s my job, and I have an obligation to help somebody else and that’s what it’s all about.”
With it being the season for giving, basketball superstar, Magic Johnson is starting the season off by giving back to a community he once called home.
For the second year in a row, The Magic Johnson Foundation teamed up with United Healthcare for an event called “Holiday Hope.”
“This is really great to see the community come together and support what we’re trying to do, which is help families have a happy Thanksgiving and those kids to have a great Christmas,” says Johnson.
More than 800 families came out and got bags full of things like food, winter coats, toys, and even Thanksgiving turkeys.
“The feeling when cars are pulling up and doing this is just awesome cause there’s big smiles and the feeling that you get inside, you feel so blessed that you’re able to do this and help other people out. It’s really an exciting thing to be a part of,” says Dennis Mouras, CEO of Michigan United Healthcare Community Plan.
Lakeshia Alexander volunteered to help with this event.
She says, it’s nice to see how a little bit of magic, can make a big difference in the community.
“It’s beautiful because people are really happy and out here helping. I mean it’s cold and people are having fun so it’s great,” says Alexander.
Last year, “Holiday Hope” reached nearly 3,000 Detroit and Lansing families.
But this year, with the help of a $30,000 grant from United Healthcare, families in Flint also benefitted from it.
Event organizers hope to reach more than 24,000 Michigan residents by 2017.
