NBA Great Dwight Howard To Receive Urban League Spirit of the League Champion Award

ATLANTA - May 27, 2017 - PRLog -- Basketball star and advocate for youth Dwight Howard will accept this year's Spirit of the League Champion Award from the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. The annual Spirit of the League luncheon honors men and women who excel in their professional lives and in service to others. The event will begin at noon on Friday, June 23, 2017, at the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, 181 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta.

Dwight Howard is recognized as an international ambassador for the National Basketball Association as he helps to expand the NBA's reach globally and works diligently on behalf of the children's initiatives he personally supports.

"Through his D12 Foundation, Dwight Howard has dramatically improved the lives of young people in the United States and in Africa. D12 goes beyond surface issues to get to the root of obstacles that hold young people back from reaching their full potential," said Nancy F. Johnson, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. "We are extremely pleased to honor Dwight Howard with our top Spirit of the League award."

The D12 Foundation encourages young people to learn to prevent bullying, earn and convey respect, and give back to their communities. In working with and advocating for young people through his Atlanta and national literacy initiatives, Howard emphasizes early childhood education and literacy and its positive impact on school achievement, higher graduation rates, and reductions in drug abuse, crime, and incarceration rates. Working in Tanzania, East Africa, since 2012, Howard has focused on housing and academic support for school-aged girls. In these communities, girls are among the most marginalized groups, but – with education – are most likely to lift future generations out of extreme poverty.

NBA fans cheered Howard during the more than 10 years he spent in cities other than his hometown of Atlanta. An Olympian, a multiyear participant in the NBA's All-Star game, and the winner of the NBA Defensive Player for three straight seasons, Howard returned home to play center for the Hawks in 2016 and to make his mark off the court in the town he so loves.

The Urban League will be joined by corporate, government, civic and individual supporters to recognize Howard and three youth achievers at the luncheon that draws a capacity crowd each year. Under the theme "Investing in Youth Today …Empowering Young Adults Tomorrow," the event showcases the resilience and determination of youth and young adults who are putting themselves on successful pathways through the League's Urban Youth Empowerment programs.

The three program honorees include Avery Hammonds Jr. and Brianna Brown. The League will also award three of its partner organizations that make it possible to offer the highest quality programs to youth and young adults who come to the Urban League to step onto pathways to success: Youth Enhancement Services (YES), Alonzo Crim High School, and the Georgia Department of Justice.

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Founded in 1920, The Urban League of Greater Atlanta is a civil rights organization dedicated to economic and civic empowerment. The Urban League of Greater Atlanta's mission is to empower communities and change lives by enabling African Americans and others to achieve their highest potential and secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.