Photo courtesy of Redwood Stories.

This season, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Dončić and his foundation give back to nearly 275 local children and children from his homeland in Slovenia. 

In North Texas, he welcomed 50 Southern Dallas students to the American Airlines Center to watch the Mavericks’ game against the LA Clippers, covering all aspects, including tickets, transportation, concessions and a pre-game meet-and-greet. Additionally, he partnered with NERF to provide a variety of toys. The students hailed from Cedar Crest Elementary, Boude Story Middle School, Bishop Dunne Catholic School and The Heroes Foundation.

“My heart has always been with kids, and I know that being in a hospital, a youth center or facing hard times during the holidays is really tough,” Dončić said. “I want to do whatever I can to make these kids’ days just a bit happier and better.”

On Dec. 21, Dončić’s team visited Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth delivering gifts including hand-knit hats and blankets to families of nearly 97 babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The knitwear was provided by a local knitting group and financial support and beauty gift cards were also provided to parents.

“The holiday season can be overwhelming and stressful for families with newborns in the NICU,”  director of the NICU at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Brittany McLaughlin, said. “We are incredibly grateful to the Luka Dončić Foundation for bringing holiday cheer to our patients and families through their generous donations and financial support for our NICU families. This outpouring of kindness will undoubtedly provide them with joyful memories during this challenging time.”

For his native roots, the Luka Dončić Foundation provided cheer, toys, gifts and holiday parties for 68 youths at the Youth Care Center Malči Belič Ljubljana and 56 youths at the Residential and Counselling Institution Veržej in Slovenia.

“It means a great deal to us that every child in the Youth Care Center Malči Belič received a Christmas present – and a real one at that,” said the Center’s principal Tatjana Pleško Zalar. “All too often, our children have the experience of being forgotten by those who should have thought of them. That is why more than the present itself, it means even more to the children that their role model, Luka Dončič, thought of them. They feel they can identify with him because, like Luka, these children also had to grow up very quickly. They want to be successful too, especially in the most important things that they mostly do not know – having a warm family.”

The Luka Dončić Foundation remains focused on improving the health and well-being of children and ensuring the safety, health and care of children facing adversity.