<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For Lamar Odom, Cathy's Kids is close to home. Very close. His new foundation is named after his late mother who passed away from cancer when he was 12. And Odom just spent a half-million dollars converting his grandmother's house, where he grew up, into an office for Cathy's Kids. With the name and office in place, Odom was ready to formally launch the foundation by raising some cash. This offseason, Odom hosted his first-ever Summer Jam in his hometown of Queens, N.Y., to get the money tree growing. He invited some of his closest friends and signed up a few corporate sponsors for the event. Kids and their families cruised Lincoln Park, near where Odom grew up, as if it were their own backyard -- enjoying games, giveaways and even read-alongs with NBA stars. The centerpiece of the day was the celebrity 3-on-3 tourney. Odom gets an "A" for effort in launching his first charity drive. Sponsors kicked in thousands of dollars, and Cathy's Kids raised $75,000. Odom plans to give the money back to his community. "Where I'm from, the public education system is tough. I want to start after-school programs and build a gym in Queens," said Odom. "I'm trying to combine basketball and education to help the next generation, to save a neighborhood and community. With that, you start a movement." While the heart of the Lakers' forward is in Queens, he has played NBA ball in the big media markets of L.A. and Miami and picked up a lot of friends along the way. Guys like Dwyane Wade, Chris Wilcox and Elton Brand came to the event to show support. The celebrity sightings weren't exactly A-list, but a few famous faces were spotted: Ryan Pinkston of "Punk'd," Donald Faison from "Scrubs," MTV VJ Coltrane Curtis, R&B singer Tank, rapper Chingy and producer Swizz Beats. In a category of his own, Darryl "DMC" McDaniel of iconic rap group Run-DMC also was in attendance.</div> Source Good job Lamar!
