Nuggets Help “Lift Up America”

Nuggets Help “Lift Up America”
Boykins, Sampson do their part to make the holiday season memorable
By Tim Gelt | Nuggets.com Coorespondent

DENVER, Dec. 5 — Teamwork. It’s what basketball is all about. It’s what life is all about. Coaches always stress making the extra pass and being unselfish on the basketball court, and Nuggets players Earl Boykins and Jamal Sampson took that same unselfish attitude outside of the gym and onto the streets.
On December 5th, Boykins and Sampson took part in Lift Up America, which is a national initiative sponsored by Tyson Foods, Luxottica, Starkey Hearing and Interstate Batteries. Nationally, Lift Up America will distribute 2.24 million meals, as well as provide 25,000 eye exams and eyeglasses and $25 million in hearing aids to the underserved. The two Nuggets players helped distribute 30,000 pounds of Tyson’s Food chicken and 4,000 battery packs from Interstate Batteries to 35 Denver agencies that provide services for homeless and low-income families. The distribution was coordinated by Food Bank of the Rockies.

In a project completely endorsed by the City of Denver and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Boykins and Sampson along with Nuggets Community Ambassadors Walter Davis and Calvin Natt loaded boxes and boxes filled with countless pounds of chicken to agency workers who will then distribute the meals to the disadvantaged people that their agencies aim to help. Cars lined up and down Chopper Circle in front of the Pepsi Center to collect the meals and batteries.

Boykins and Sampson also walked down the aisle of cars and greeted the drivers and passengers that were labeled the true heroes of the day at the press conference to kick off the program because their agencies work directly with the under privileged families of Denver. Expecting to get meals to serve to families they work with, the agency workers got unexpected smiles and handshakes from Boykins and Sampson, which made the day even more special.

Teamwork is defined as a cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause. On this day the coordinated effort of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, the Denver Nuggets, The City of Denver, Tyson Foods, Lenscrafter/Luxxottica, Interstate Batteries, Starkey Hearing Labs, Food Bank of the Rockies, the Denver Fire Department and all of the agencies and volunteers – including Boykins and Sampson – who took part did their best to try and reach the goal of helping others this holiday season.

Nuggets Head Coach George Karl and assistant Doug Moe would be proud of everyone involved with Lift Up America because they all truly did “make the extra pass.”