Wade’s World! Excellent!

Fri., Aug. 9 – Today, I wrapped up a successful “A Week of Wade’s World in South Florida” with two events. The first was a surprise visit to the Miami Springs Recreation Pool Center, where the HEAT were teaching students the importance of learning how to swim. My son, Zaire, is learning how to swim now, so I felt it would be a good idea to swing by to show support for our ‘Learn to Swim’ water safety campaign. While I was at the pool, I got a chance to meet one of my teammates, Daequan Cook, for the first time. He’s much taller than I anticipated. They have him listed at 6-foot-4, but he was slightly taller than me with flip-flops. He was a cool guy and I look forward to winning a lot of games with him this season.

Afterwards, I headed to the Overtown Youth Center to talk to kids about the importance of reading. What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I love a good book or story. I’m always down to read a love story or romantic comedy. And during the season, I try to pick up a book or magazine when I’m on the plane or before I go to bed.

Looking back at this week, I’m extremely proud of how it went. You really can’t go wrong spending a week with kids having fun and teaching them things at the same time. A reporter asked me today if I looked at myself as a teacher because at every event, I had something new to share. It caught me off guard a little because I never thought of myself as a teacher. I just think I’m a person who has an opportunity to let his voice be heard and help people. Right now, people want to listen to what I have to say. Why not use it to make a difference, especially with kids.

When you get something covered by the media, you don’t do it for praise. You do it because you want people to get behind your efforts. No one can do it on their own, so you have to show people what you’re trying to do. Maybe they will want to join your cause. I’ve said this before: kids are our future. If you want to live in a better place, start with our youth – give them an opportunity to better themselves, especially in the less fortunate areas. I was a kid not too long ago, and I understand what they’re going through. I want to give them a vision and let them know that whatever they want to achieve in life, they can do it. Anything’s possible if they continue on the right path.

I’m in the early stages of my charitable work and my efforts are only going to get bigger and better each year. I’m just beginning to touch the lives of kids, but I’m going to touch many more lives for years to come.