BBVA Compass brand ambassador and NBA All-StarKevin Durant made a towering debut Friday, September 9 at the IDEA Public Schools Austin’s Rundberg campus, where the bank and the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation have set out to give the school a$100,000 outdoor basketball court where students can learn some of life’s most lasting lessons.
Durant brought news to the 400 IDEA students assembled in the school’s gymnasium that the court would be finished at month’s end. The outdoor court is a joint endeavor between the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation’s BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL court renovation program and the BBVA Compass Foundation, which helps carry out the bank’s mission to be an engine of opportunity by broadening access to education and affordable housing, among other aims. The BBVA Compass Foundation is dedicating$100,000 to the effort, a vivid illustration of the bank’s dedication to Austin and in the power of private industry to step in where other funding sources fall short.
“I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to visit IDEA Rundberg today and check in on the progress of the outdoor court we are building through the Build It and They Will Ball Initiative with my partner, BBVA Compass,” said Durant. “I grew up playing on an outdoor court and it’s a dream come true to provide these kids with the chance to create bright futures.”
IDEA Austin’s Rundberg campus, which has more than 700 students in its Academy and College Prep schools, is part of the growing IDEA Public Schools network of charter schools serving more than 24,000 students across Texas. While more than 90 percent of its students are considered low-income, 100 percent of the students in IDEA’s Class of 2016 were accepted to at least one college, including Ivy League schools and other highly competitive universities.
As a charter school, IDEA Rundberg receives approximately 75 percent of its funding from state and federal sources, compared to traditional public schools, and relies on private donations to pay for its facilities.
“We’re so proud to be able to pull together and do something for this special school and the promising young people who pass through its doors every day,” said BBVA Compass Texas Regional Executive Jeff Dudderar. “We’re here today because we believe in giving back to the community and helping to build bright futures for everyone, and this court is where kids can learn some of life’s most lasting lessons — how to work hard, dream big, lean on others and be part of a team.”
“It was important for us to come into the city of Austin, TX and leave a mark through the foundation’s signature program,” said Rich Kleinman, Vice President of the KDCF. “The Build It and They Will Ballinitiative allows the KDCF to give back to communities in need and we are honored to see how excited the student body is to embrace this project.”
The event Friday capped BBVA Compass’ 100 Days of Brightness, a summer-long initiative designed to create smiles through random acts of kindness. It was also part of the bank’s Bright Futures platform, which launched earlier this year, with Durant putting a voice to the campaign with his “Dare to be you” TV spot in February.
