ORLANDO, Fla. –– Bo Outlaw’s booming voice echoed as the former forward, now a community ambassador for the Orlando Magic, directed traffic.
He led the way for a young boy eager to get to Tristan da Silva, the Orlando Magic’s new signing who was participating in his first community outreach event, for a photo. The sea parted, da Silva happily obliged, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulders and smiling as Outlaw snapped the photo.
Moments before embarking on a service project with United Against Poverty in Orlando, da Silva received his first sign of the city’s deep connection to its professional basketball team.
“As a basketball player, I feel like most of the time I’m in a bubble, working with people who are in the basketball world,” da Silva said Tuesday. “Getting out of that bubble and being aware of who you’re impacting, the influence you have on the community, is important.”
Da Silva, Outlaw and Magic employees, through the franchise’s Volunteer Program (MVP), spent Tuesday afternoon celebrating 100,000 hours of community service in the Central Florida community. They helped sort, clean and stock supplies for the Member Marketplace, Member Share Grocery, Emergency Food Pantry and United Against Poverty’s STEP Clothing Closet.
UP helps people experiencing poverty by providing crisis care, case management, transformative education, food and household subsidies, employment training, and active referrals to other collaborative social service providers.
The MVP program, which began in July 2006, was developed to encourage Magic employees to get out and get involved in the community. Over the next 18 years, more than 100,000 hours of service have been logged.
“Under the leadership of the DeVos family, volunteerism has always been and continues to be a core value of the Magic organization,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of our staff for their dedication to our great city and salute them for their generosity of time and money.”
Da Silva has focused primarily on acclimating himself to the Magic in terms of basketball. On this occasion, he has begun to learn what they are like outside the arena.
“I know giving back to the community is a big part of the Magic organization, one of their core values,” da Silva said. “To be a part of that and to be a part of it and to give back to the people who laid the foundation for this program, this organization, is awesome.”
Over the summer, some of Da Silva’s teammates have been busy giving back, including point guard Cole Anthony and center Wendell Carter Jr. At an event last Thursday, Carter Jr. said the Magic’s involvement in the community makes it easy for him to step into a role where he’s able to make a difference for those around the team. Less than a week later, Da Silva said Tuesday that the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than himself and the sport he plays is impactful.
It’s a double-edged sword relationship between the team and the city, where each needs the other and impacts the other.
It helps Tristan da Silva, the person, and not just the basketball player, to make this place feel more like home every day.
“I have to get used to a new situation,” da Silva said. “The people around me are really making it easy. It’s a lot of fun and it’s been an easy transition. The people in the organization, the teammates, the community, they really care about each other. So it’s a really good place to transition.”
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