This gives me an opportunity to work with kids that were like me who couldn’t afford basketball training, who couldn’t afford all these other resources.”

Drew Lasker - Founder of the 21 Foundation and pro basketball player

Friday, July  16, Drew Lasker and Yvonne Harris held a private showing for the movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy” starring LeBron James to promote the launching of their organization, the 21 Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps young student-athletes.

 “This gives me an opportunity to work with kids that were like me who couldn’t afford basketball training, who couldn’t afford all these other resources,” Lasker said.

Lasker is a professional basketball player that plays for the Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League. He was born and raised in the Katy area spends his summers giving back to the Katy community through his other organization TrainHarder 21. Lasker lives in Britain nine months of the year, then comes back to Katy from May to August. In the summer months, he helps train and mentor students. Lasker has never spent a summer in Britain even though he has lived there for 16 years, he said.

The 21 Foundation focuses on training and mentoring student-athletes who are not be able to afford it on their own. The foundation not only works with student-athletes on their basketball skills, but also helps guide them in other aspects of their life.

21 Foundation Co-Founder, Yvonne Harris, first met Lasker when he was training her son. They were able to get to know each other and later form 21 Media and now the 21 Foundation. The foundation was inspired by the lives of Lasker’s grandmother, Vera Lott, and Harris’ mother, Carol Yvonne Plummer Harris.

Lasker and Harris have many plans to help student-athletes financially and academically. They will reach out to different lower-income areas. Lasker said they have reached out to a few schools and asked the coaches to point out two or three students that would benefit from basketball lessons but cannot afford them. Then, 21 Foundation will provide them with scholarships. The scholarships can either be used for the 21 Foundation or for another organization of the student’s choice. One of the areas that 21 Foundation will contribute to is the community of Brookshire, he said.

The 21 Foundation will also focus on improving the skills of student athletes’ academic success through math and reading camps. Lasker said he loved math when he was growing up, so he can help students who have difficulty with the subject. He will teach math through statistics and analytics by having kids watch sports and test them over percentages and how many points were scored in the game.

Those interested in being a part of the 21 Foundation program can go to drewlasker.com under the 21 Foundation section to volunteer or donate. Lasker and Harris are working to build an individual website specialized for the 21 Foundation. People can also book a training session on his website drewlasker.com with his organization, TrainHarder 21.

 “I want to provide these kids with something I never had,” Lasker said.