MILWAUKEE — Winning titles and gold medals are just a part of the Holiday family legacy. Jrue and Lauren Holiday are also big on giving back to the Milwaukee community they now call home.
The couple partnered with Kohler to renovate the bathrooms at Sojourner Family Peace Center hoping to provide a little of relaxation to families who need it most.
The idea to help renovate women's shelters came when the Holidays were renovating their own home.
"We were picking out all these really cool fixtures and stuff from Kohler. And the woman that was showing me around, I was like, 'you know what would be really cool?' And she was like 'What?' And I was like 'If we partnered and redid women's shelters,'" Lauren Holiday said.
And just like that, the partnership formed and the idea was made a reality.
Jrue Holiday joked about how renovating showers made sense giving his wife's love for taking showers.
"Very, very long hot showers," he joked. "I think to have a comfortable shower, somewhere where you can go to get peace, somewhere to cry, somewhere to have that space is really important."
On Friday the Holidays met with residents and staff at Sojourner to unveil the new bathrooms.
Angelina is one of the residents who call Sojourner home, she also happens to be a huge Bucks fan. To know that so many in the community support her and the families at Sojourner means the world to her.
"It gives me hope for tomorrow. To let my head down. To have a shower, a hot meal. No worrying about where you're going to eat next. Not worrying about where you're going to sleep next," Angelina said.
Jrue said it's always been important to give back to the community that embraced him from year one on the team.
"When we got here the city embraced us and made it feel like home, and that's what we're about," Jrue said. "It's only right that we give back however we can."
Between 2021 and 2022, the Holidays have also helped to support and uplift 17 Black-owned businesses and Black-led non-profits in Milwaukee through the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Fund (JLH Fund).
One of those organizations is Turning Table Tavern Eatery run by Emerald Mills.
"Turning tables is designed to operated as a full-service restaurant. We also provide full mentorship and support to up and coming food-based entrepreneurs that are looking to get into the industry," Mills said of her business.
She started Turning Tables because she knows how difficult it can be for minority entrepreneurs to access capital. She wanted to be a helping hand for other entrepreneurs along the way, but to get her own business started she too needed a little help. That's where the JLH fund came in.
"Knowing that they were there, knowing that they supported us was even more helpful and a bigger blessing than the money," Mills said.
