Carmelo Anthony spent much of his childhood in Baltimore's Murphy Homes housing projects, and his foundation has never left neighborhoods like it behind. Since 2005, the Carmelo Anthony Foundation has funded education, outreach and disaster relief for children and families in underserved communities, from Baltimore to Brooklyn and beyond.
A Vehicle for Actionable Change
Anthony launched the Carmelo Anthony Foundation in 2005, just two years into his NBA career, as a vehicle for change: providing educational support, outreach programs and donation services to children and families living in impoverished and underserved areas.
The Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center
In December 2006, Anthony opened the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center in East Baltimore, contributing $1.5 million to the Living Classrooms Foundation, which runs hands-on education, job-training and community service programs for young people in the neighborhood.
Melo's H.O.O.D. Movement
Back in Baltimore, Anthony has hosted an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament known as Melo's H.O.O.D. Movement, short for Holding Our Own Destiny: a day of hoops that brings his home community together around its young people.
$3 Million for His Alma Mater
Anthony committed $3 million toward a new basketball practice facility at Syracuse University, where he had won a national championship in his single college season. The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center opened in 2009; at the time, his gift was believed to be one of the largest ever made by a current professional athlete to the school he attended.
A Very Melo Christmas, and Help in a Crisis
In Denver, Anthony served as a spokesman for the Family Resource Center and helped organize A Very Melo Christmas for children with less. When the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck, he donated $35,000 to relief efforts and added $1,000 for every point he scored in two games in January 2005.
Co-Founding the Social Change Fund
In July 2020, Anthony partnered with Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade to create the Social Change Fund, addressing social and economic justice in Black communities, from criminal justice reform and voting access to economic equity. In 2021, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award.
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