FORT VALLEY, Ga. — In November, fundraising for the A10tion Foundation Center in Fort Valley was at about $8,000. Seven months later, Natalie White says they're almost at the halfway mark of their goal of $50,000.
Natalie White is now the senior vice president of the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team. She's also a Peach County High School basketball legend and the founder of the A10tion Foundation.
"I want kids to know my journey, to know that I grew up in a small town and I want to encourage them to dream big and to understand your goals and dreams, we're here to support that," she says.
White used to play in the same building growing up, back when it was the old Hunt Middle School. She says the renovating began, but there's still work to do.
"The foyer's done, the tile is down, as you can see the signage is outside, so now the next step is pulling up the old floor, painting all the inside, the locker rooms for girls and boys, getting that done," she says.
White says construction has been on hold since March due to COVID-19, but while she's across the country monitoring from a distance, she has former Peach County High School girls basketball coach Maxine Cherry as her sidekick.
Cherry says this youth center is needed. "We all want our children to excel, we want them to do well in sports and academics. That's the main focus that Natalie has, academics."
White says the hope is to continue construction in July, but for now, they'll be working behind the scenes to make sure everything is in place and the donating continues.
To donate to the center and learn more about the A10tion Foundation, check out their website.
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