AARON GORDON AND JONATHAN ISAAC NAMED CO-WINNERS OF 2018-19 RICH & HELEN DeVOS COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT AWARD
Orlando, Fla. (March 16, 2019; 6:00 p.m. ET) – Orlando Magic forwards Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac were named co-winners of the 2018-2019 Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award (CEA) Saturday night at the Inaugural Orlando Wine Festival and Auction benefiting the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation held at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. This is the first time both have won the award.
Since 1995, the DeVos family has honored a player who has dedicated his efforts off the court for the purpose of enhancing other’s lives. A panel of representatives selects the player. In addition to receiving the award, Gordon and Isaac will be each be granted $25,000 from the DeVos Family Foundations ($50,000 total) to donate to the charity of their choice.
“To carry on the legacy of our parents, the family is honored to continue the tradition for the 24th season of the Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment award,” said Orlando Magic Chairman Dan DeVos. “We congratulate Jonathan and Aaron as this year’s co-winners and look forward to the Magic’s continued commitment to the Central Florida community.”
Gordon and Isaac have consistently volunteered their time off the court and to the Central Florida community supporting the Magic’s mission to be World Champions on and off the court delivering legendary moments every step of the way. In addition to supporting the Magic’s initiatives, both players have assisted the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation and the NBA in their community goals as well.
“The Orlando Magic are so proud that our players recognize the values of our great ownership group, the DeVos family,” said Magic CEO Alex Martins. “It is through the DeVos family leadership and their core value of giving back that the foundation of our entire team – staff, coaches and players – is built. We are incredibly proud of all of our players’ off-the-court efforts and want to congratulate both Aaron and Jonathan on the impact that they have made on the Central Florida community.”
Highlights of Gordon’s community involvement for the 2018-19 season:
- Held a free basketball clinic for local underserved youth.
- Teamed up with the Magic and members of the military in a commitment to service project to celebrate Hoops for Troops Week.
- Hosted and joined Amway to sponsor a Thanksgiving meal distribution to 475 local underserved families.
- Participated in the Magic’s OMYF Open Golf Tournament, to help raise funds for the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation.
- Joined the Magic and Pepsi in a holiday shopping spree, taking 100 local youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs shopping for the holidays.
- Tipped-off his CodeOrlando program in December at OCPS’ Academic Center for Excellence (ACE). The Gordon Family Giving Fund also made a $6,000 donation to OCPS’ ACE to help fund the program for the entire school year. The program will teach underserved communities about computer science, robotics and AI, through creative technology projects. In addition, the program will provide valuable speaking and teamwork skills.
- Donated to the Share the Magic ticket program and sponsored 600 tickets for local underserved youth to attend Magic games. Met with some of the youth groups pregame.
- Greets children before games in support of the Magic Maker program.
Highlights of Isaac’s community involvement for the 2018-19 season:
- Teamed up with Coaching for Literacy to raise funds and join in the fight for literacy to benefit children grades K-3 in all Orange County Public Schools. He visited OCPS youth to encourage reading. Isaac matched all fan donations.
- Donated to the Share the Magic ticket program and sponsored 300 tickets for local underserved youth to attend Magic games. Met with some of the youth groups pregame.
- Met with AdventHealth for Children patient, Priann Franco, to welcome her as an honorary member of the Magic team, giving her a tour of the facility and shooting some baskets with her.
- Took youth from the Valencia Horizon Scholars program on a tour of the Bronze Kingdom African Art Gallery to learn about African American history focusing on music, art and culture as part of the Magic’s Black History Month Celebration in February.
Past winners of the award include Nick Anderson (1995-1996), Penny Hardaway (1996-1997), Darrell Armstrong (1997-1998, 1999-2000), Grant Hill (2000-2001), Monty Williams (2001-2002), Tracy McGrady (2002-2003), Pat Garrity (2003-2004), Bo Outlaw (1998-1999, 2005-2006, 2006-2007), Dwight Howard (2004-05; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10; 2010-11; 2011-12, co-winner w/Redick), J.J. Redick (2011-12, co-winner with Howard), Jameer Nelson (2012-13), Tobias Harris (2013-14; 2014-15, co-winner with Oladipo), Victor Oladipo (2014-15, co-winner with Harris; 2015-16), Elfrid Payton (2016-17), Arron Afflalo (2017-18), Aaron Gordon (2018-19, co-winner with Isaac), Jonathan Isaac (2018-19, co-winner with Gordon).
In January, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation presented checks totaling $1,200,000 to 16 grantee organizations.
The Orlando Magic and the DeVos family are committed to making a difference in Central Florida. Each year, the Magic gives more than $2 million to Central Florida by way of sponsorships of events, donated tickets, autographed merchandise and grants. At the heart of the Magic’s charitable efforts is the work done by the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation.
The OMYF is committed to helping children in Central Florida realize their full potential, especially those most at-risk, by supporting nonprofit organizations offering youth-based programs in the areas of education, housing/homelessness, the arts and health programs focused on preventing childhood obesity.
Over the last 29 years more than $24 million has been distributed to local nonprofit community organizations through the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. The DeVos family’s investment in the OMYF covers all administrative costs which allows for 100 percent of all donations to go directly to the foundation to benefit children and families in need throughout Central Florida each year. The OMYF raises community dollars annually through donations, auctions and events such as the OMYF Open Golf Tournament and the Orlando Wine Festival and Auction.
The debut of the Magic’s signature fundraiser for the OMYF, the 2019 Orlando Wine Festival and Auction, included a wine and food festival, live and e-auctions and will culminate with an Orlando Magic game tomorrow (March 17 vs. Atlanta). The weekend of events featured exclusive vintner dinners on March 15, the outdoor festival featured live music, live auction displays, local and celebrity chefs, wineries, and food pavilions, along with Magic players and coaches. Each guest also received an invitation to the OMYF grant ceremony, where all funds from the Orlando Wine Festival and Auction will be distributed to local nonprofit organizations.
For more information on the OMYF, please visit www.omyf.org; and for more information on the Orlando Wine Festival and Auction, please visit www.wineauctionorlando.com or follow the OMYF on Twitter – @OMYF or Facebook /OrlandoMagicYouthFoundation.