Sacramento Kings pledge season ticket deposits to charity
By Jeff Adcox
The Sacramento Kings recently announced that they would donate all the 2014-2015 season ticket deposits back into local reading and literacy initiatives. It is expected to generate as much as $100,000 for the community.
“We have too many children who are not reading at grade level in Sacramento,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson. “It is a priority of mine to make sure we invest more resources in effective programs to get this right. I commend the Kings for stepping up to help provide those resources. It is going to take a continued effort from the Kings and the broader community to help make the improvements we all want to see for our kids.”
The beneficiaries of the donations include the United Way’s STAR Readers project, the Sacramento County Office of Education’s Preschool Bridging Model, Sacramento READS! and the Sacramento Public Library
“Only 37 percent of Sacramento’s third graders are reading at level,” said Chris Granger, President of the Sacramento Kings. “We can do better, and we believe that investing in early childhood education will help local students achieve their dreams and grow up to be the next generation of Sacramento leaders.”
The campaign was announced at the 2014 Sacramento State of the City, during which Mayor Johnson gave an update on the future Entertainment and Sports Complex.
“Mayor Johnson has done so much to instill confidence and a sense of civic duty in our community,” said Granger. “We applaud his continued commitment to developing the downtown Sacramento core, as well as to quality of life issues like education, health and the arts.”