Rajon Rondo provides food, protective equipment and more to people in Louisville

The latest member of the Los Angeles Lakers to donate supplies to their hometown to aid them in getting through the coronavirus pandemic is Rajon Rondo, who joined LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma among the members of the purple and gold to provide food for the less fortunate.

In addition to food, Rondo also donated protective equipment and other necessary goods to the people of Louisville, even delivering some of them himself.

Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated had the details:

Rondo and numerous other NBA players have been helping the less fortunate during the pandemic, with Louisville being his main focus. The Rajon Rondo Foundation joined with Lineage Logistics, a provider of temperature-controlled food logistics, and Louisville food bank Dare to Care to deliver more than 250,000 meals. Rondo spent three weeks in Louisville in April packing and delivering meals, as well as distributing gift cards and exercise kits to senior citizens and families with kids involved in his youth foundation.

“There were some people in tears,” Rondo said. “Some people said God answers prayers. I was kind of taken aback by the aid I was able to provide. With that kind of reaction, you just want to be able to do more and bring awareness to what is going on out here. Nobody should go without food. Senior citizens paved the way for us. There are kids and families in need. So, I tried to help as many people as possible.”

Spears’ full discussion with Rondo on the reasons he found this important and why he wants to help seniors specifically is worth a read, but this is where we should note that as much as Rondo gets a lot of grief on this blog and in Lakers communities in general, this is a time where it’s important to separate basketball players and people. This is an awesome move from Rondo, the human being, and deserves to be appreciated for how kind and thoughtful it is.

In addition to Rondo, James and Kuzma helping out their hometowns, the Lakers have also done outreach in the city of Los Angeles, from Quinn Cook packing up and sending food to frontline workers to Anthony Davis — who has family and friends on the frontlines — donating food to healthcare workers. James and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka are among those to personally voice support for medical workers in L.A., while Jesse Buss — whose family owns a majority share of the team — has sent food and masks to those who need them most.

If you’re looking to join them in helping out and donate money, the Los Angeles Times has compiled a helpful guide to aid you in finding a cause to give to.

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