Feb. 29, 2008 | By Michael McCormack
 

NEW ORLEANS -- When the NBA came to New Orleans for the All-Star break, thousands of eager recovery volunteers came as well. According to local media reports, the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service deployed more than 2,500 volunteers to about 10 different work sites.
 

One of those volunteers was Miami Heat All-Star Guard Dwyane Wade. In advance of the All-Star game, Wade had heard of what the Baptist Crossroads Project is doing in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. He wanted to help.
 

The Baptist Crossroads Project is an ongoing partnership between the Baptist Crossroads Foundation and New Orleans-area Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing in the Upper Ninth Ward neighborhood. Crossroads is also targeting the 75-block area around the site for long-term, holistic recovery.
 

Carmen Wilson, formerly with the Miami Heat, contacted Baptist Crossroads Project volunteer coordinator Jared Pryer in early January. Wade partners with Wilson’s company, 4 Survival to Go, to distribute survival kits to people threatened by natural disasters.
 

 “At that point, she just told me there was an NBA player who was going to be in town for the All-Star game,” Pryer said. “She asked me what we were doing. I told her about the Baptist Crossroads Project, and at that point, she talked to me about passing out hurricane emergency kits to homeowners.”
 

The 4 Survival to Go kits are packed with items to help a family survive the first 72 hours after a disaster: emergency food and water, a phone card, a flashlight/radio/siren/phone charger, a poncho, a sleeping bag, survival tools, and extensive first aid kit, and much more.
 

Not long after that, though, another of Wade’s associates and his sister stopped by Pryer’s office while the Heat were in town.
 

“They told me that Dwyane really wanted to do something that was more permanent that just the emergency kits,” Pryer said. “I mentioned home sponsorship as an option.”

Before construction on a new Habitat house can begin, $20,000 must be raised. That $20,000 can come from a single sponsor or from multiple sponsors. Pryer said a great way to participate in what Baptist Crossroads is doing in New Orleans is to sponsor a house.
   

“The called me back a few weeks later and said they’d like to sponsor three houses,” Pryer said. “They like to do things in threes, because that’s his number.”

Wade packed his All-Star weekend with activities aimed at leaving New Orleans a better place. Friday, Feb. 15, Wade and 30 New Orleans-area students played together in the T-Mobile Rookie Game. At the event, Wade took plenty of photos with students and also gave plenty of survival kits away.

On Saturday, Wade partnered with Converse to host a brunch that was emceed by ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. At the brunch, First Baptist New Orleans Pastor David Crosby spoke about the Baptist Crossroads Project. Then, Wade described what he was doing the next day at the Crossroads site. Part of the proceeds from the event will go to the Baptist Crossroads Project.

For Wade, his All-Star Sunday began with a driving tour of New Orleans that ended at the Baptist Crossroads site. Pryer said Wade’s interaction with neighbors around the Crossroads site marked the whole experience.

“Dwyane personally went up, knocked on doors, gave the kits to families, talked to parents and their kids for a little bit and took pictures,” Pryer recalled.

Pryer said the entourage then went into the house at 1900 Bartholomew Street, which will eventually be Shamar Allen’s home.
 

“That’s where the ceremony took place,” Pryer said. “He got to meet all the families of the homes he’s co-sponsoring with Baptist Crossroads Project.”

Wade then went next door with one of the homeowners who wanted to give him a tour of his future house.

“The homeowner just wanted him to go in the house to show him where things were going to be,” Pryer said. “He told him, ‘This is going to be my living room. This is the kitchen. This is where my daughter’s going to sleep.’”
 

After a long series of heart-felt hugs and pictures, Wade had to leave to prepare for the All-Star Game.
  

Frequent Celebrity Visits

Pryer and the Baptist Crossroads Project are no strangers to celebrities. Pryer named senators John Edwards and Barak Obama and presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush as just some of the celebrities who have visited or worked at the Crossroads site.
   

But among the names, Wade’s stands out. He’s the first to personally sponsor a house.
    

“Once we knew the All-Star game was going to be in New Orleans, we really wanted to find a way to leave something behind,” Wade said in a statement. “One of the main things you can do is give someone a home – and we accomplished that today.
   

“Although I’m here to play in the All-Star game, my purpose was to come to New Orleans and be a blessing to as many people as possible, and we’ve done that. I feel whole.”
      

And it didn’t stop there. Wade’s sponsor, Converse, outfitted a hotel ballroom with Converse gear during All-Star week. Organizers didn’t want to have to pack anything up, so they called Pryer to see if he wanted it.
     

In the end, Pryer got an office full of Converse shoes and the three homeowners – already blessed by Wade’s generosity – each now have furniture for their house.
     

For more information about how to volunteer with Baptist Crossroads Project or about sponsoring a house, please email Pryer at jared@fbno.org.