CLEVELAND — The holidays are important to Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, who also has a passion for STEM. On Thursday, he combined the two in his annual Meals +Math event.
When Allen reflects on his favorite Thanksgiving memory, food is at the center of his joy—even when it might not have been too tasty.
"Favorite holiday, they let me cook the yams one year at Thanksgiving and that might have been the last time that they let me cook the yams, they turned out pretty bad," Allen laughed.
But the reason behind his love of the holidays is what they truly mean.
"It's a time for family. It's cold outside, it's a good time to bring everybody together. It's time for everybody to realize that family is all you have. You've got to love one another," Allen said.
That's why giving back to the community during the holiday season is so special to him. So on Thursday, Allen invited 25 elementary school students from Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Orchard STEM School to shop at Giant Eagle and go home with food for their families ahead of Thanksgiving.
Orchard STEM School Principal Andrea Moss understands the magnitude of the gift of food for the families of the children.
"Food is quite expensive. And for our students to have an opportunity to do some shopping for their families and actually contribute to their households as a third and fourth grader is such a great opportunity," Moss said.
As the kids arrived, they were each given $100 gift card and taken around the store to pick out items for Thanksgiving. But while Allen gave them the funds to buy the groceries, he also gave them a lesson in STEM—focusing on getting the kids hands-on experience with some everyday math.
"We give them $100 gift card and a calculator, and they budget, and they have to make a meal for their family for $100," Allen explained. "I'm super into STEM, super into technology and math and this is my way of giving back to the kids, they seem super excited today to come out and learn about math. And you don’t get that a lot," Allen said.
As they shopped, kids walked around the store, adding up prices of the items and balancing how much they were spending to hone up their math skills. Kids smiled as they put treats from themselves in the cart after realizing they were under budget with all of their Thanksgiving must-haves. Some grouped together and helped each other with their calculations.
But it was at checkout where Allen's lessons were personally delivered. As each child had their items scanned and their totals added up, Allen was there to see how they did. One young girl was nearly perfect in her budget, using all but $0.49 on her gift card. Allen was impressed, giving her a high five as she watched her cart loaded up with the bagged groceries.
For other students who ended their day over budget—Allen talked to each one, paying the difference of what was owed and giving them a lesson in budgeting and helping them figure out where they may have gone wrong in their math.
The day provided nourishment for the children's bodies in the form of food and for their minds in the form of their math lesson—which for the people involved in their daily education was an invaluable opportunity.
"Not only did they have a chance to budget, they had a chance to pick out things that they need for their household. And this, again, is a math experience that's worth every penny," Moss said.
For Allen, he hopes the day is something that the children won't soon forget.
"I hope to leave a lesson that the NBA players out here, we're willing to give back. There's people out here rooting for them. But also for me personally, that math is fun. STEM is something that you could get a career in and use in your future," Allen said.
And as the kids left the store with their groceries and educational experience wrapping up, Allen had one more surprise. Through a partnership with Microsoft, Allen sent the kids off with a Microsoft Surface tablet and Beats by Dre headphones, while also giving the kids Cavs memorabilia and offering pictures, autographs—and the memory of a day that shows the true spirit of the holidays.
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