Mike Conley Jr. Donates $15,000 to LTSF

The Lawrence Township School Foundation is pleased to announce that former Lawrence North High School basketball player and current starting guard for the NBA Memphis Grizzlies, Mike Conley, Jr., has donated $15,000 to the Lawrence Township School Foundation for the support of their nationally recognized “My Community Gets Healthy” program.  Specifically, the donation will be used in conjunction with a contribution from the John Stewart Memorial Fund, to purchase heart rate monitors and other electronic and computer equipment that will allow teachers and students to track their overall fitness levels and the progress the students make in improving their fitness.Conley states “ I am pleased to give back to the Lawrence Township schools and particularly to give to a program that will help children focus on their health and fitness.  I am also pleased to do this in association with the contribution from the John Stewart Memorial Fund, since John also played basketball for LN and meant so much to my high school coach, Jack Keefer”.   John Stewart played basketball for Lawrence North and tragically died in 1999 during a Regional Championship game from complications due to a previously undetected enlarged heart.

Christie Love, Executive Director of the Lawrence Township School Foundation, notes the significance of Conley’s contribution.  “It is always important to have the support of all our alumni in the continued success of the Lawrence Township schools.  It is especially gratifying that Mike Conley, at such an early age and at the beginning of his career, would make such a significant contribution to help the children in his former community.”

Love also notes that Conley’s contribution was the final piece to the funding for this project.  “The John Stewart Fund was able to provide the funding for the majority of the expense of the equipment; however, we did not have the funding to make the equipment available for all of our schools.  With Mike’s contribution, this program and the its funding will now allow the program to be include every elementary, middle and high school in Lawrence Township.

Jan Keefer, President of the Lawrence Township School Foundation Board and former member of the board for the John Stewart Foundation, also notes the significance of the project.  “John Stewart loved children and we have diligently looked for a project that would honor his life and memory plus have a significant and lasting impact on children.   I think that John would be so pleased that the youth of Lawrence Township will have the opportunity to maintain healthy life styles through the use of this program.   Most importantly, this program will continue to impact thousands of children for many years to come.  And special thanks go to Mike for continuing to be a part of the Lawrence community.   I hope that his generosity will also inspire other members of our community to give back.”

The mission of the Lawrence Township School Foundation is to encourage and support creativity, innovation and excellence that enhance the educational community of the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township. The Foundation was formed in 1983 by a group of concerned parents. The Foundation has been committed to providing financial support to Lawrence Township schools and educators to implement innovative programs that will help shape and enrich the minds and lives of students in grades K – 12. For over two decades, the LTSF has focused on our youth as being the key to the future.  The Lawrence Township school system is preparing today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Foundation has given back over $2.4 million to LT schools! For more information contact Janet Harris, VP- Marketing, LTSF Board of Directors at harrisjk@comcast.net or at 317.281.3115.