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Memphis Grizzlies engage in Grizzlies Cares Day with full-team service project at Lester Community Center on Oct. 25

MEMPHIS, TN, October 22, 2014 - The Grizzlies will host “Grizzlies Cares Day” at Howze Park on the Lester Community Center grounds, Saturday, Oct. 25. The day-of-service project will feature the entire Grizzlies player roster along with 200 volunteers participating collectively in a series of projects that include: full refurbishment of the outdoor basketball courts, exterior landscaping and several interior renovations. The courts will be officially unveiled at the public Pop-Up Party at Howze Park from 12 – 2 p.m. after the project has concluded.

The service project is closed to the public.

The “Grizzlies Cares Day” project at Lester Community Center is part of the organization’s broader commitment to ensure all children have access to parks, programs and people dedicated to developing their full potential. In addition to the outdoor basketball courts and landscaping, a working partnership with Peer Power, a nationally renowned mentor program, enabled the Grizzlies to create a state-of-the-art Blended Learning Lab inside Lester designed to help significantly improve reading skills among elementary school students across the neighborhood.

“This project is very special to us for a number of reasons: it reflects our new philosophy to follow every physical investment with program investments to ensure we deliver measurable, sustainable results for the community,” said Diane Terrell, executive director of the Grizzlies Charitable Foundation and Community Investment Team. “It’s also reflective of a continued collaborative, community-based approach to investment. We engaged the community in dialogue at virtually every level of planning and execution and, as a result, there is a real sense of shared ownership and pride in what we’ve accomplished together.”

The court renovation project at Lester Community Center is a cornerstone of GRIZZFIT, formerly Healthy Home Court, the Grizzlies initiative to promote healthy lifestyle choices among all Memphians.  Howze Park will debut the four full-court, fully-lit basketball courts, presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. The courts will be called the Memphis Grizzlies Community Courts at Howze Park – a well-known proving ground for many Memphis basketball legends, including Elliot Perry and Penny Hardaway who played at Howze Park as youth and return to the neighborhood often.

The court renovation project and the Blended Learning Lab project are part of the annual NBA Cares Week (Oct. 19-26) platform which urges teams and players to participate in events and activities to support the communities in which we live, work and play.

Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2014-15 Season Tickets, or 22- and 12-Game Packs can do so by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com.  Season Tickets start at $7 per game.  22-Game Packs start at $12 per game, 12-Game Packs start as low as $15 per game. Preseason and Regular Season Single-Game tickets are on sale now. For more information on the Grizzlies, visit grizzlies.com, ‘like’ Memphis Grizzlies on Facebook or follow on Twitter (@memgrizz).