Raise #5 to the rafters for George Floyd t-shirt fundraiser complete, movement continues

The "Raise #5 to the rafters for George Floyd" CustomInk t-shirt fundraiser is now complete and we sold 36 t-shirts. This raised $176.49 total. First off, thank you to everyone who bought a t-shirt and spread the word - Marvin and Mandy Billups, Spencer Smith, Sadia Alroabie, Alexis Ozoria, Bianca Lisa, Olivia Oyola, Kaheem Davis, Sandra Sanabria, William Davis, Shanyka and Beatrice Scott, Jermaine Lewis, Jason Lewis, Patrick James, TJ Schorr, Kevin Major, Corey Orgias, Jenee Johnson, Kevin Johnson and John Simmons. Also, shout out to our trivia contest winners - Branden Gibson, Marvin Billups Jr, Nkeba Baker, Spencer Smith, Corey Orgias and Daniel Jacas.

Our goal was to sell 50 t-shirts which was projected to raise $288.50. With Max's All Stars matching that amount, our donation to https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd would have been $577.00. Unfortunately, we fell short of our fundraising goal - but that's okay because Max's All Stars covered the difference and rounded up to make a donation of $600.00. Our contribution will be split among dozens of community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers.

Even though our t-shirt fundraiser is now complete, the movement we have created will continue. Max's All Stars remains committed to using our platform to speak out on issues of social and racial injustice. We will continue to share historical facts, make donations and sign petitions. Whatever we can do to help make this world a better place, no matter how big or small, let's do it together. If anyone has suggestions for organizations to support and things we can do to help the cause, please contact us. Thank you.

Raise #5 to the rafters for George Floyd

Raising a banner to the rafters, to commemorate a championship or an individual player by retiring their jersey number, is one of the highest honors in sports. George Floyd was a basketball player, just like so many of us. In this article by Jerry Bembry, George Floyd's athletic career is detailed. Eddy Barlow is quoted saying “In basketball, he was a Dennis Rodman type, a blue-collar player." Barlow added "George was idolized by young boys living in the projects because he was the first guy that many of us witnessed get an athletic scholarship where we grew up. He was one of my role models. He was one of us. That’s why his death is so hard to take." The article goes on to mention how "Floyd accepted a basketball scholarship at South Florida Community College (now South Florida State College) to play for George Walker, who was in need of a power forward." "He was very athletic and had some ball skills big guys don’t have, so I offered him a scholarship," Walker said. "Those were the attributes I was looking for in a post guy." Floyd broke his foot early in his freshman year, but he came back and had a strong sophomore season. While the school didn’t track stats back then, Walker recalls Floyd averaging 14 points and eight rebounds that season. "Just a solid player for us," Walker said. "I could not have asked for more."

In honor of George Floyd and countless other victims of racial injustice, we are raising George's #5 South Florida jersey to the rafters with the message "Never Forget". We will never forget George Floyd and all victims of racial injustice.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will be donated to https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd. This donation will be split among dozens of community racial justice organizations and bail funds across the country. Max's All Stars will match our final total raised.

This fundraiser ends on June 20, 2020. Thank you!