MILWAUKEE — Many Milwaukee Bucks fans were left feeling mixed emotions after finding out Jrue Holiday would be leaving Milwaukee.
That’s because his impact stretched beyond the basketball court.
Jrue and his wife Lauren Holiday started the JLH Social Impact Fund in 2020. It was created after thousands of lives and businesses were impacted by the pandemic. The charity efforts started in Milwaukee in 2021.
Since then, a handful of Black-owned nonprofits and businesses were recipients of the grant, helping them continue the work they’ve started in the community.
Darius Smith is the co-founder of Black Space.
Black Space is dedicated to helping normalize healthy mental health practices in Black and brown communities. It does that with group therapy sessions.
“I think we all need a little bit of extra help when it comes to our mental health and wellness, and for us it’s about how we can make that change right here in our community community,” said Smith.
Smith said the resources they offer are a big need everywhere, but also right here in Milwaukee. He said that’s why Black Space was so thankful to be a recipient of the JLH Fund in 2021.
“To have Jrue and Lauren Holiday to have put the time and effort into Black Space goes a lot further than what they can even imagine,” he said. “It just really means a lot.”
Re-Imagine Education was also a past recipient. They work to attract, retain and elevate educators of color.
Keith Streicher is the co-founder and said the grant has helped keep them moving forward. That included being able to revamp their website and launch a program aimed at retaining and sustaining Black and brown teachers in the education system in the classrooms around Wisconsin.
“It really was a game-changer,” said Streicher. “We received a grant, and it helped us to continue contributing and continue our work in the education space in Milwaukee and really Wisconsin at large.”
(AP Photo, file)
He said you don’t even have to be a basketball fan to appreciate the work he did for the city.
“His absence from the state will definitely be felt throughout Wisconsin,” he said. “I’m just so proud that someone like him and someone like that organization was able to shed light on what we were doing and help us with those funds. It really was life-changing.”
As a longtime Bucks fan, Smith said he was devastated to hear that Holiday would be leaving Milwaukee, but said the trade was bittersweet.
“The impact is way bigger than just the basketball,” said Smith. “We are losing out on a great player, but all of the other stuff that Jrue and Lauren Holiday did do throughout the community was everlasting.”
He said Holiday will definitely be missed both on and off the court, but said people in Milwaukee will always consider him one of their own.
The JLH Foundation may continue to include Milwaukee in its charitable efforts each year. The Holidays have focused their support on cities they have personal connections to, including Indianapolis, Los Angeles and New Orleans.
