Kobe Bryant believed the fame basketball gave him was only useful if it changed something for somebody else. With his wife Vanessa he built a foundation focused first on the young people sleeping on the streets of his own city, and his giving, from hundreds of granted wishes to a national museum he helped fund into existence, is still at work today.
A Foundation Aimed at Youth Homelessness
In 2011 Kobe and Vanessa Bryant launched their family foundation at My Friend's Place, a Hollywood drop-in center for homeless youth, just a few miles from where the Lakers played. The foundation set out to help young people and families move toward permanent housing, education and careers, partnering with organizations such as Step Up on Second, which builds supportive housing in Los Angeles.
My Friend's Place and HomeWalk
The Bryants stayed close to My Friend's Place for years: the foundation funded a renovation of the center, completed in 2012, and Vanessa continues to visit and to host an annual holiday celebration for the young parents there. Kobe also served for several years as honorary chair of United Way's HomeWalk, the annual walk raising money and awareness to end homelessness in Los Angeles County.
Make-A-Wish
Across his twenty seasons, Bryant granted more than 200 wishes for children facing life-threatening illnesses, and he was known for giving each visit his full attention, spending real time with children and their families. Make-A-Wish said after his passing that each of those wishes gave a child hope for a brighter future.
The Kobe China Fund
After playing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bryant started the Kobe China Fund to support education and health programs for children in China. He also pushed to bring Mandarin language and Chinese culture programming into American after-school programs, using basketball to build a bridge between young people in the two countries.
After-School All-Stars and Young Athletes
Bryant served as an ambassador for After-School All-Stars, which gives students academic support, enrichment and sports during the hours after school, and he launched the Kobe Basketball Academy in 2007 for players ages eight to eighteen. Through the foundation's Mamba FC youth soccer club in Orange County, young players built leadership and healthy habits alongside the game.
Culture, and Carrying It Forward
Kobe and Vanessa were founding donors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. After Kobe and his daughter Gianna died in January 2020, Vanessa renamed the family's sports foundation the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation in their honor, and the family's work for young athletes, especially girls, continues in their names.
Bryant explains in his own words why he gave so much time to Make-A-Wish children, in a television interview.
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