UPDATE: Mr. World Peace donated a large chunk of change to various mental health organizations. The LA Times has the details: “Metta took some steps to bring World Peace on Wednesday by donating $285,000 to mental health charities across America. He has pledged to give away more than $500,000 that he raised by raffling off his 2010 Lakers championship ring. At the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, before handing giant checks to six women who represented various organizations, World Peace briefly discussed his own struggles with mental health. … World Peace handed out $65,000 to Steinway Child and Family Services in Queens, N.Y.; $55,000 to Child Center of New York; $50,000 to Centers for Youth and Famillies in Little Rock, Ark.; $37,500 to Cleveland Christian Home in Cleveland; $37,500 to Centerstone of Central Tennessee in Nashville; and $40,000 to Indiana Community Health Network in Indianapolis.”
The Artist Formerly Known As Ron Artest continued with his good deeds, as he donated $120,000 to charitable causes near where he grew up in New York. The Daily News reports: “The edgy and eccentric member of the LA Lakers, who grew up in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, has donated more than $100,000 to charities in his former stomping grounds. The hard-nosed defender, who legally changed his name to Metta World Peace last Friday, gave $65,000 to Long Island City-based Steinway Child and Family Services and $55,000 to The Child Center of New York, based in nearby Woodside. He said he wanted to help Queens kids who face problems similar to those he overcame as a child. ‘When I was 13, our house burned down and my mom and dad separated, and from then on I was really agitated and started getting in a lot of trouble,’ he told The Daily News. ‘My mom told me I had to see a counselor. He helped me a lot. Without him I don’t know where I’d be.’ Artest raised the money by raffling off his 2010 NBA championship ring. ‘Queens is where I’m from. I want to reach that kid in Queens who’s looking for that help,’ he said after a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles that marked the donation. ‘Maybe there’s a lack of support in their household, or they don’t know how to be a good dad, a good role model or they’re not being educated about mental health medication.'”
