Magic Johnson , his wife Cookie, son EJ, and daughter Elisa posed for photos atop the stairs of their hotel before attending a dinner with President Obama in NYC on September 23rd. The family of do-gooders looked sharp in their complimenting outfits as they prepared to depart for the fundraiser.
In related philanthropic news, Johnson recently opened a Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academy in Lawndale, Chicago. The new school is designed to help teens who’ve dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out.
“[These young people] are forgotten. When we did research, we found almost 75 percent of the dropouts said if they had the chance to do it again, they wouldn’t have dropped out,” the former NBA player told Ebony.com recently. “I had to start these academies to get them back in school.
“The problem is, if you don’t have an education, you’re going to end up in trouble. So that means you’re going to prison or you’re going to end up dead. I want to give these kids an opportunity to come back, get a second chance in life, get a diploma. Hopefully, from there they would want to go to college. If not, at least they can [learn] a trade so they can get a job. I needed to take them off the streets and put them in [an educational] environment where they can learn at their own pace.”
So far, the Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academy has 16 schools in five states.
