The devastating situation in Indiana has slowly shifted from emergency flood rescue to a massive, long-term recovery effort. But it’s important to remember that recovery isn’t just about rebuilding roads, pipes, and local infrastructure. It’s about helping families who lost everything rebuild their lives. Darius Garland, a native NBA star, understands the task and is ready to give back to his community.
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“Gary, Indiana is my hometown. It made me who I am. Right now, my hometown is hurting,” Garland said in a statement with Gary Mayor Eddie Melton. “That’s why today, my family and I are donating $100K to the Greater Gary Storm Recovery and Relief Fund at the Legacy Foundation to help address the most urgent needs of residents.”
“My foundation, The Darius Garland Foundation, and I are also actively working with other organizations and the Mayor’s Office to find additional ways to support my community and get essential resources to those who need them most.”
Garland’s contribution comes as Lowe’s steps in to provide both building materials and voluntary labor to help clear debris and rebuild damaged homes.
The Los Angeles Clippers star, who’s set to make $42 million next season with the Los Angeles Clippers, is also working to organize ‘Bucket Brigades’ on August 29 at Roosevelt Pavilion, 2201 Harrison St, at 12 noon. The initiative will provide one free bucket of supplies per household until supplies last.
“The outpouring of love and support from Darius and his family, combined with the ground-level corporate support from Lowe’s, represents a great step forward in our recovery process,” said Mayor Eddie Melton. “When crises hit, the true character of our community shines. Darius is a testament to the resilience and heart of this city, and we are incredibly grateful to both his foundation and Lowe’s for delivering the resources our residents desperately need right now.”
Darius Garland wasn’t alone. Last week, the Indiana Pacers (NBA), Indiana Fever (WNBA), and Noblesville Boom (G League), collectively under the Pacers Sports and Entertainment umbrella, joined the Indianapolis Colts (NFL) in making a $125,000 contribution apiece.
“We’re proud to join the Colts and the Irsay family in supporting the American Red Cross to help provide relief to the individuals and families who have been impacted by these devastating floods,” said Pacers Foundation Chair Rachel Simon in an official statement. “Our thoughts are with everyone across Central Indiana whose homes, businesses and lives have been disrupted by this severe weather.”
These donations come at a time when the needs are dire. A derecho storm and floods hit Indiana on August 11, resulting in the death of eight people and leaving power outages affecting over 360,000 houses. Entire towns like Flora and Camden faced total power failure, while Lake County suffered a 95% outage.
Total damages are estimated at $5 billion. Gary is in the 21 counties approved for federal assistance, and its locals are among the hardest-hit communities. About 374,500 NIPSCO consumers suffered outages for close to two weeks. It left people helpless because they had nowhere to go to store their food, charge phones, do laundry, or even get through the basics of the day.
That prolonged blackout has already caused political conflict as well. Mayor Eddie Melton deemed the progress made in restoring electricity not satisfactory enough. Meanwhile, the Governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, has sought an investigation into the proper maintenance of power lines before the storm.
More than 13,000 requests for help have already been made to the government, showing the extent of damage caused by the storm in designated counties, such as Lake, Marion, Hamilton, and LaPorte.
This isn’t the first time Garland has played an active role in giving back to the community. He is an active contributor in the league’s yearly NBA Cares Season of Giving initiative in which organizations and players look to uplift their cities by providing meals and free supplies during the holidays.
“Being out there with the community means a lot to me, personally. These are the people who support you, who bring energy into the arena,” Garland told The Athletic last year. “Spending time with them reminds me why I do what I do, and I’ll always try to use my platform to give back and break barriers in sports, education and life.”
As Garland works to help his hometown, he aims to be healthy and ready for next season. When speaking to HoopsHype, Garland talked about the intense frustration of dealing with a severe toe injury at the end of the season in Cleveland.
“It was very frustrating just because the season I had before, it was really, really good,” Garland said. “So, I think we could have had a chance of making a run if I didn’t get hurt. So that was pretty frustrating. But now having a full summer, a full offseason, back to 100 percent.”
Garland’s health is crucial to the Clippers because he has just joined the team through a trade from Cleveland in February in exchange for James Harden. He made his debut in March and instantly made history, becoming the first franchise player to put up 40 points, 10 assists, and seven three-pointers.
As reports suggest, Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is all set, and Garland is expected to be at the helm of the Clippers’ offense when the new season kicks off. However, his concern at this point is not about basketball but about the larger community that helped shape him before his time in the NBA.