The Kevin Durant Charity Foundation has announced a $10 million donation to College Track in order to expand the organization’s college completion program to Durant’s hometown of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The funds will be used to construct the Durant Center, an educational and leadership facility that will house College Track’s comprehensive ten-year program that assists students from underserved communities in overcoming barriers to college completion and preparing them for success in the twenty-first century economy. College Track at The Durant Center will welcome its inaugural class from neighboring Suitland High School in the fall of 2018. According to the nonprofit, students who participate in the program graduate from college at a rate that is more than double the national average for low-income and first-generation students.
College Track, created in 1997 by philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and entrepreneur Carlos Watson, prepares high school students for the intellectual, financial, and socioemotional demands of college and then supports them throughout their studies. The Durant Center is the organization’s first East Coast location; more venues in the Washington, D.C., metro area are set to open by 2021. The Kevin Durant Charity Foundation was established in 2013 with the goal of improving the lives of low-income teenagers via education, athletics, and social projects.
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“This is the realization of a dream of mine,” said Durant, who won the NBA Championship Finals MVP award last season. “To come back home and positively impact the lives of kids — who share the ambitions I’ve always had — with world-class educational opportunities and resources that can completely change the game in our community for generations to come.”