MILWAUKEE — It's fun to watch Brook Lopez block shots on the court, and every time he does, there’s a big splash off the court.
Before Wednesday’s Bucks Playoff game, Lopez was honored with the NBA Cares Community Assist award for March for his Block for Books program.
It's no small task to fill a library with books, but seven-foot Bucks center Lopez is helping get the job done.
Next Door Foundation's Cristina Crogan couldn't ask for a better team player.
Every time Lopez blocked a shot, he gave Next Door $500.
With a career-high 193 blocks, that adds up to nearly $100,000 this season for the early childhood education program.
"What's important about Brook's donation is we get to choose the best books for our children," said Crogan.
Parent Kinishewa Quinn can't imagine what her three children's lives would be without books.
She now works at Next Door after coming here for years with her children. Quinn is grateful for Lopez's commitment to Next Door and helping kids read.
"Ever since they were toddlers, my one year who currently goes here, my two other children have always had books donated from Next Door Book for Kids program. They really enjoy them," said Quinn.
Lopez says reading is a personal passion for him. He now has a reading space called Inky's Nook dedicated to his grandmother's reading room, where she and his mom influenced the future NBA star's love for books.
"They have a lot of really great memories, growing up in that library and developed a great love of learning there," said Cristina. “So, we wanted to dedicate a specific in honor of his giving."
Brook's total donation this season to youth literacy is $175,000. Some of that money also went to Scholastic Book Fairs at Five Milwaukee Public Schools. Each student was able to pick and keep five books. That added up to about 10,000 books.
Following in Brooks’ footsteps, the NBA will donate $10,000 to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation.
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