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Detroit Mumford High School is getting an investment in its girls athletic programs, thanks in part, to arguably the best girls high school basketball player to ever play in Michigan.
On Tuesday, March 10, student-athletes from the school's girls basketball, volleyball and cheer teams received a $20,000 donation and new shoes from Skechers.
The donations come from a partnership between Skechers and Adoptaclassroom.org, a national nonprofit providing funding to PreK-12 educators across the county. The partnership, which began in 2021, has raised $670,000 for over 17,000 students in "under-resourced communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico," according to a release.
"It's emotional. It's exhilarating. It's an exciting time, especially for women's/girls sports," Detroit Public School Community District executive athletic director Jay Alexander said. "Because they're the ones that unfortunately take a backseat because they don't get what a lot of others get. And so now this opportunity right here just says, 'Hey, just like everybody else.'"
MHSAA TOURNAMENT: Sydney Savoury leads Belleville revenge in playoff win over Howell
During the announcement, students got to hear from Detroit native Rickea Jackson – the first WNBA star to sign with Skechers, back in 2024 – in a video message. Jackson recommended to Skechers that a Detroit school receive a donation.
"Growing up in Detroit, I saw how hard schools like Mumford, coaches and communities work to continue to support student athletes," Jackson said in her video to the roughly 45 students inside the Jemele Hill Auditorium. "That foundation in people that believed in me early on is what ultimately help push me to the WNBA."
The students erupted into cheers when Jackson made the donation announcement official during her video.
"I know how hard your coaches, teachers, just everyone around you work to support you and we want to help strengthen that," Jackson said.
FAMILY TRADITION: East Lansing's KJ Torbert joins dad in winning Michigan Mr. Basketball
Jackson played basketball at Detroit Edison, where she led the Pioneers to three consecutive MHSAA girls basketball championships and became the program's all-time leading scorer. She was also the winner of the 2019 Mick McCabe Miss Basketball Award.
She played five seasons in college – three at Mississippi State and two at Tennessee – and was selected No. 4 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA Draft. In December, she returned to Detroit and her alma mater where she became the first player in school history to have her jersey retired.
Alaijah Thomas, an 18-year-old senior at Mumford who plays on the basketball team, was the first person to receive her shoes.
Thomas, who played at Detroit Edison as a freshman, said she was thankful for the donations.
"I see how [Jackson] made it to where she is now," Thomas said. "And I'm just kind of happy that's she's able to do this for us and was willing to do it."
Miya Richardson, a junior on the volleyball team, said the new shoes will help a uniform dilemma the team faced this past season.
"We've been struggling to find a team shoe other than our court shoe," Richardson said, "and this would be the perfect shoe to wear outside of just playing and being on the court 24/7."
Richardson and her family moved from California in 2016 to be closer to family in Michigan. The 16-year-old spent her first two years of high school at Redford Thurston before transferring to Mumford. The day's event was a surprise to Richardson.
"This is my first time that I've seen people come in and donate money," Richardson said. "That's the first time that's happened to me going to a school in Michigan at all. I was very surprised."
First-year principal Nolan Procter said the school may use the money for new uniforms and equipment.
"If you look good, you feel good, you play good," Procter said, referencing Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, "but it's really about providing them with the experience of being able to feel and compete at that top level."
Jackson's mother, Caryn Jackson, made an appearance to the school. Caryn, who played high school basketball at Detroit Murray-Wright under her maiden name Shinn, played collegiately at Kansas and Lansing Community College, where she won a national championship during the 1995-96 season.
"Mumford is one of the schools that have … I would say about 90 to 95% of the players are from the city of Detroit," she said. "They walk to school. They in the neighborhood. So to see that you have a school that's still pulling kids from the neighborhood, to come and to participate … why not give support when people are investing? Why not be an investor as well."
TO YOUR INBOX: Sign up for our weekly Michigan Preps newsletter to get high school sports and news sent directly to you!
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: [email protected]; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Skechers makes $20,000 donation to Detroit Mumford High School girls athletics
Continue reading...
On Tuesday, March 10, student-athletes from the school's girls basketball, volleyball and cheer teams received a $20,000 donation and new shoes from Skechers.
The donations come from a partnership between Skechers and Adoptaclassroom.org, a national nonprofit providing funding to PreK-12 educators across the county. The partnership, which began in 2021, has raised $670,000 for over 17,000 students in "under-resourced communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico," according to a release.
"It's emotional. It's exhilarating. It's an exciting time, especially for women's/girls sports," Detroit Public School Community District executive athletic director Jay Alexander said. "Because they're the ones that unfortunately take a backseat because they don't get what a lot of others get. And so now this opportunity right here just says, 'Hey, just like everybody else.'"
MHSAA TOURNAMENT: Sydney Savoury leads Belleville revenge in playoff win over Howell
During the announcement, students got to hear from Detroit native Rickea Jackson – the first WNBA star to sign with Skechers, back in 2024 – in a video message. Jackson recommended to Skechers that a Detroit school receive a donation.
"Growing up in Detroit, I saw how hard schools like Mumford, coaches and communities work to continue to support student athletes," Jackson said in her video to the roughly 45 students inside the Jemele Hill Auditorium. "That foundation in people that believed in me early on is what ultimately help push me to the WNBA."
The students erupted into cheers when Jackson made the donation announcement official during her video.
"I know how hard your coaches, teachers, just everyone around you work to support you and we want to help strengthen that," Jackson said.
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FAMILY TRADITION: East Lansing's KJ Torbert joins dad in winning Michigan Mr. Basketball
Jackson played basketball at Detroit Edison, where she led the Pioneers to three consecutive MHSAA girls basketball championships and became the program's all-time leading scorer. She was also the winner of the 2019 Mick McCabe Miss Basketball Award.
She played five seasons in college – three at Mississippi State and two at Tennessee – and was selected No. 4 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA Draft. In December, she returned to Detroit and her alma mater where she became the first player in school history to have her jersey retired.
You must be registered for see images attach
Alaijah Thomas, an 18-year-old senior at Mumford who plays on the basketball team, was the first person to receive her shoes.
Thomas, who played at Detroit Edison as a freshman, said she was thankful for the donations.
"I see how [Jackson] made it to where she is now," Thomas said. "And I'm just kind of happy that's she's able to do this for us and was willing to do it."
Miya Richardson, a junior on the volleyball team, said the new shoes will help a uniform dilemma the team faced this past season.
"We've been struggling to find a team shoe other than our court shoe," Richardson said, "and this would be the perfect shoe to wear outside of just playing and being on the court 24/7."
You must be registered for see images attach
Richardson and her family moved from California in 2016 to be closer to family in Michigan. The 16-year-old spent her first two years of high school at Redford Thurston before transferring to Mumford. The day's event was a surprise to Richardson.
"This is my first time that I've seen people come in and donate money," Richardson said. "That's the first time that's happened to me going to a school in Michigan at all. I was very surprised."
First-year principal Nolan Procter said the school may use the money for new uniforms and equipment.
"If you look good, you feel good, you play good," Procter said, referencing Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, "but it's really about providing them with the experience of being able to feel and compete at that top level."
Jackson's mother, Caryn Jackson, made an appearance to the school. Caryn, who played high school basketball at Detroit Murray-Wright under her maiden name Shinn, played collegiately at Kansas and Lansing Community College, where she won a national championship during the 1995-96 season.
"Mumford is one of the schools that have … I would say about 90 to 95% of the players are from the city of Detroit," she said. "They walk to school. They in the neighborhood. So to see that you have a school that's still pulling kids from the neighborhood, to come and to participate … why not give support when people are investing? Why not be an investor as well."
TO YOUR INBOX: Sign up for our weekly Michigan Preps newsletter to get high school sports and news sent directly to you!
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: [email protected]; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Skechers makes $20,000 donation to Detroit Mumford High School girls athletics
Continue reading...
