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Volunteering With Hospital Patients & All-Stars During The 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Emma Kowiak
Alyssa Wheeler
UCLA Contributor
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.

Her Campus at UCLA had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and volunteer with some of our favorite NBA athletes as part of the NBA Cares program before All-Star Weekend!

Throughout this weekend, various athletes are volunteering their time to show their appreciation for our community and we had the honor of visiting the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles alongside these NBA all-stars and legends. 

It was a truly heartwarming experience to say the least. The room was filled with so much excitement and positive energy that we almost forgot it was a hospital; board games, crafts and miniature basketball hoops filled the room providing players and patients with fun memories. 

While he’s typically a fundamental player in the game, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, went to the sidelines and coached a young patient showing off his basketball skills. We didn’t get confirmation from Dray, but we can safely assume he was pretty impressed by the future all-star’s moves. We definitely were!

Five time NBA all-star, Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics, decided to pass on the toys and instead opted to engage in a heartfelt conversation with a patient. It was clear by the young man’s face how much joy that one conversation brought into his life. Being able to witness such an event transpire was so incredibly touching.

Among these all-stars were basketball legends including Dikembe Mutombo, Detlef Schrempf and Swin Cash. Although they have all hung up their sneakers, they remain involved in the NBA Cares program showing how kindness, service and philanthropy are deeply intertwined within these players lives even after they retire.

Attending this NBA Cares program at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles was so moving and we are extremely grateful that we had the opportunity to cover this amazing event. Seeing the glimmer in the patients’ eyes when the NBA stars walked in the room was unlike anything we’ve experienced before. We couldn’t imagine a better way to kick off the NBA All-Star Weekend!

For more information and details on what the NBA Stars are up to during the 2018 Annual NBA All-Star Weekend, check out allstarweekendlosangeles.com!

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Alyssa Wheeler is a second-year English student minoring in digital humanities. She loves film and television and is planning to add an additional minor in film while studying at UCLA. In addition to being a social media staffer and writing the occasional article for Her Campus UCLA, Alyssa is also an A&E contributor at Daily Bruin. If she isn't in Westwood, you can probably find her at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre enjoying hilarious improv comedy.
Her Campus at UCLA is a proud Elite Level Chapter in the Her Campus. Our team consists of talented writers, content creators, photographers, designers, event planners and more! Follow us @HerCampusUCLA and check out HerCampus.com/school/UCLA for more articles! Feel free to contact us at hc.ucla@hercampus.com for any questions.