Zion Williamson arrived in New Orleans in 2019 as the most anticipated rookie in years, and within months the city knew what kind of neighbour he would be. His foundation's work centres on the children of New Orleans and of his Carolina hometown: their schools, their uniforms, their camps, and their chance to simply be kids.
Covering the Arena Workers
When the NBA suspended its season in March 2020, the hourly staff at the Smoothie King Center suddenly faced weeks without pay. Williamson, a 19 year old rookie, pledged to cover the salaries of all of the arena's workers for the next 30 days, saying the people who make the games possible had welcomed him from the day he was drafted, and that this was his way of returning the support.
$250,000 for Students Starting Over
In June 2023 his foundation donated $250,000 to Jefferson Parish public schools for the Summer Bridge program. School consolidations meant many local students had to move to new schools, and the money helped their families cover the costs that came with the change, above all the new uniforms the students needed.
Zion City at the YMCA
Williamson hosted his Zion City youth basketball camp at the Dryades YMCA in New Orleans, the kind of neighbourhood gym he grew up playing in. He speaks of places like the YMCA as pillars of a community, and campers got their moment too: one young fan famously challenged him to a game of one on one.
A Free Camp Back Home
In August 2024 Williamson hosted his first basketball camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he went to school, drawing nearly 200 children to the Upward Star Center. The camp was first announced with a fee; days later he scrapped the charge entirely so that any child who wanted to come could come, saying the city that embraced him deserved to have the love shown back.
Education and Health for Young People
Through his foundation, Williamson supports educational and athletic opportunities for underprivileged youth, in New Orleans and back home in the Carolinas. The pattern of his giving is consistent: find the cost that is quietly keeping a kid out, a uniform, a camp fee, a lost month's wages, and take care of it.
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