25,000 Hours of Community Service: Why it Matters

On the way into our Philadelphia 76ers offices, I have the privilege to pass freshly bronzed sculptures of Sixers legends Hal Greer, Wilt Chamberlain and Bobby Jones - and I’m reminded that our organization was built on the shoulders of players who literally created the game played today. I pass the hardwood court on which Wilt Chamberlain scored his 100-point game - and I’m reminded that the impossible is completely attainable. I pass walls adorned with autographed jerseys worn by Sixers royalty like Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley and Julius Erving - and I’m reminded that there is a special kind of infamy and immortality that follows disruptors. It makes me proud. It makes me proud to work for this organization, its storied history, its embodiment of innovation, rebellion and grit.

Then, I pass by Senior Premium Operations Account Manager Aaron Rush at his desk. And I pass by Vice President of Communications Dave Sholler in the hallway. And I pass by Group Events Coordinator Casey Inguagiato, addressing group of Group Sales Specialists in a conference room. And it makes me equally proud.

Each of those executives embodies a commitment that we’ve made to our community. Every employee in the Philadelphia 76ers organization pledges 76 hours of community service annually; which equates to over 10,000 hours of community service each year. 

Tally up the 250-plus employees in the New Jersey Devils front office and Prudential Center staff (wherein each employee devotes 82 hours - representing the year the team moved from Colorado to New Jersey) and you have over 25,000 hours of community service annually devoted to the communities where our fans live, work and play. Communities like Camden or Newark, NJ – or Philadelphia, which has the second highest poverty rate of any major US city. These are the communities where our organizations and ownership group have made the purposeful decision to plant our flags – but also to plant flower gardens in the local children’s community centers (alongside our partner Virtua); and to plant a new tree for every three-pointer the Sixers make during the season (alongside our partner PECO); and to plant seeds of hope and inspiration in every young child who walks wide-eyed into a freshly painted Boys & Girls Clubhouse.

We clear our schedules one day each month, we close the offices, we get on buses that transport us to elementary schools in areas that need some help, love and attention. We go to polluted streams, trash-filled parks, graffiti-covered train stations, homeless shelters, food banks, and long-since forgotten basketball courts with broken rims and cracked pavement. Then we do it our way, the only way we know: with energy, love and grit. Our Sixers Dunk Squad, presented by Dunkin’ Donuts, might perform a flip routine at a pep rally for employees. We might unleash Sixers In-Arena Host (now Founder and CEO of Sixers Innovation Lab company Live Life Nice) Christian Crosby on the microphone while our in-game DJ spins music. We create novelty social media hashtags. We wear matching tee-shirts embolden with the words “Project 76” across the front. We serve lunch from Garces catering, arguably the most sophisticated and chic restauranteur in Philadelphia. Jose Garces is a gem of this city, eating a lunch prepared by his chefs isn't exactly roughing it...

As you might expect, this becomes a bit of a … production. And it should be. 

Inspiring our employees to engage in our volunteer programs does warrant this degree of extensive, even ridiculous, hoopla and hype – a pep rally, a DJ, catered lunches…There should be an engraved, crystal bowl awarded once a month to the employee who has volunteered the most hours. That person should be honored at 200-person Staff Meetings. Show your employees it matters – and don’t leave after the photo op ends. We stay, we sweat, we serve. We paint, we clean, we rake – we’ve dodged our share of cockroaches with laughter; and we’ve stood in tearful, muted, silence to witness circumstances and environments that dishearten us. But we have the power to change some of them and provide a brief glimmer of sunlight in some cycles that we know we cannot break. We have the platform and celebrity to bring media attention to those people and causes in need, and so we do. Between our family of sports and entertainment properties we have a lot of able, willing and hard working hands that can help. So we help.

This is our role in the sports and entertainment business. This is our obligation and opportunity. This is your role, obligation and oppportunity – not simply to “do employee community service”, but to truly engage – with both your community and your employees. This is not about punching your “Community Relations Timecard”, grabbing your box lunch and checking out. (Admittedly, we do have a committee that will chase you down if you don’t log your Community Service hours.) 

This is about making a difference. This is that important. It's on my ‘critical list,’ and hope it is on yours. The importance of community engagement is something that I learned years ago, working for Joe Banner, President of the Philadelphia Eagles. The focus was driven home by NBA Commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver, standard bearers of the industry. It was reinforced working at Madison Square Garden, alongside Jim Dolan and the the Garden of Dreams. It really does matter and you can make a difference when you lean in, decide where to make your impact and mobilize a millennial workforce that is inspired by helping others. What inspired me when interviewing with Josh Harris and David Blitzer was the sense of shared values and insistence we support our communities the right way. We are going to do our part to make the world a little bit better by leveraging our reach, influence and resources. So, we commit with everything and everyone we have.

I’m often reminded of the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

An inspiration. A truth. A challenge. 

For many organizations, it was Deloitte’s 2015 Millennial Survey that opened their eyes to the changing desires of the millennial employee and the importance that 90% of them placed on working for an organization that might use their skills to do good in the world. More than 50% of millennials said they would accept a pay cut to work for an organization that matched their values. The survey ascertained that 75% of millennial employees believed their businesses were focused on their own agendas over improving their communities. What an incredible opportunity. That opportunity is yours - whether you run a company, oversee a division, manage a department or have the will to influence those that do.

It is our responsibility and honor to use our platform of sports and entertainment to generate positive change in the communities where our fans live, work and play; and to improve and inspire the youth there who will become the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. We follow leaders like Josh Harris, who remind us, through his incredible work with the Police Athletic League and After School All-Stars, that it is our duty and privilege to integrate ourselves meaningfully into the fabric of the community. We follow leaders like David Blitzer and the work he does with Harlem RBI. We pursue true engagement at every level – driving awareness for meaningful causes through publicly, embedding consistently within the community and supporting change-making organizations with resources and much-needed investment. We hosted a world-class gala, the Sixers Youth Foundation Gala, that raised almost one million dollars for our Sixers Youth Foundation. We support the Wilt Chamberlain Memorial Fund, providing scholarships to high school seniors from the Philadelphia-area with potential. We serve. We coach. We donate. We do. 

So, when I pass by Aaron Rush, I see an incredibly hard worker with an indelible smile and positive attitude – and I think of the time he spends each weekend coaching and refereeing a basketball league for adults with down syndrome. I pass by Dave Sholler - and I congratulate him on the 7,000 pounds of food he helped collect for the Atlantic City Rescue Mission over the weekend. I pass by Casey Inguagiato - and she’s brimming with excitement to tell me about the day she spent alongside 15 Account Executives packing gift bags and cleaning closests at Cradles to Crayons – because they “needed a team building exercise this month and decided it was better to team-build while helping kids in need than going bowling.”

And it makes me proud. And it brings me a humility that there is more to do, and we have just begun.