BUILDING BLOCKS NON PROFIT

In 2011, retired NBA player and Minneapolis native Devean George founded Building Blocks, a non-profit committed to transforming the neighborhood where he grew up through youth development programming and real estate development. Building Blocks is the culmination of a commitment to positive community change that began when George was growing up in North Minneapolis. As a young student athlete, his parents would often miss his games. They both worked two jobs so that he and his two brothers could attend private schools. While he was visiting home in the summer of 1996 after his freshman year at Augsburg College, his family was struck by tragedy when two assailants randomly fired at the George family home. Bullets struck his 11-year old cousin Byron Phillips and narrowly missed his 12-year old brother. Phillips would later die from his injuries. The day after the incident, George met with his coach at Augsburg Brian Ammann and shared his goal to make it into the NBA so he could take care of his family and make a real difference in his neighborhood. His focus paid off when the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him three years later, making George the first ever first round draft pick from a Division III school. Playing alongside Kobe Bryant, he became the seventh player in NBA history to win a league championship in each of his first three seasons. After a final stint with the Golden State Warriors and 11 seasons as a professional athlete, George entered retirement with a vision to channel the determination that had driven his successful career in the NBA into building a better future for the neighborhood where that determination had first been forged. He credits his success as a professional athlete to the building blocks he was offered along the way: strong parenting by his mother and father as well as coaches and teachers who taught and mentored him. The organization’s theory of change is that helping children explore themselves and their dreams is the best way to empower them to be the most productive members of society that they can be. This exploration is best achieved in stable, affordable housing that enable families their quest to be productive and successful. Building Blocks aims to partner with families and youth in the specific steps needed to achieve their goals.