Awards/Other Philanthropy
AWARDS
The Charlotte Bobcats named Brendan as their Sports Hero of 2013. He was honored during their "My Hero Gala" on October 26th, 2013 at the Hilton Charlotte City Center.
On March 14, 2014, Brendan was chosen as one of Eckerds' Children's Hero of the Year! The awards are given each year at a black-tie gala to honor the achievements and altruistic contributions made by individuals to the Charlotte area for children.
WASHINGTON
While Brendan was with the Wizards, he was an active member of the Washington Wizards community. He joined Wizards owner Abe Pollin, President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld, coaches and teammates in delivering holiday gifts to five families in Washington, DC.
Brendan joined teammates to give away turkeys and food baskets to families for Thanksgiving. He also joined fellow Tar Heel Alums Antawn Jamison and Jerry Stackhouse in providing funds for the UNC Men's Basketball team to take holiday gift bags and food to the NC Children's Hospital and IFC Men's Shelter in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Brendan participated in the Wizards Benefit Lunch in which players, coaches and staff raised money for the Wizards Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund by serving lunch to fans at MCI Center.
In addition, on Feb. 12, 2006, Brendan teamed up with the Washington Wizards to honor DC area schoolteachers for their outstanding work in the classroom. His commitment to educators and education stems from his mother, a retired Librarian Assistant at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, who provided constant reinforcement to him on the importance of education. In that spirit, Brendan honored 10 teachers by presenting a check for $1,000 to each educator.
GIVING BACK IN GREENSBORO
On May 31st, 2007, Brendan joined forces with the Greater Greensboro Community Foundation (GGCF) to provide a free book fair for the kids at Peck Elementary School in Greensboro. Brendan donated $4,000 while the GGCF contributed an additional $2,000 to make sure that each of Peck's 400 students were able to receive at least two books. (Peck Elementary School has some of the smartest but some of the most underprivileged students in North Carolina. Peck’s diverse student body is 58 percent African American, 16 percent Hispanic, 8 percent multi-racial, 6 percent Asian and 3 percent American Indian. The remaining 9 percent of the student population is Caucasian. More than 85 percent of Peck students are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunches due to their parents’ financial status.)
BRENDAN'S FREE BASKETBALL CLINIC
For the past three years, Brendan has hosted a free 1-day summer basketball clinic for underprivileged children at his former high school (Dudley High) in Greensboro. Each clinic has had at least 150 participants. Sponsors such as BoJangles', McDonalds, Nike and Vitamin Water helped make the clinics successful.
THE BRENDAN HAYWOOD COMPUTER LAB
In August 2008, Brendan spent over $25,000 to provide 4o computers to the Guilford Preparatory Academy in Greensboro. The computers (16 desktops and 24 laptops) were for the staff and the school's new computer lab.