KAT Team Foundation holding back-to-school giveaway for kids in need
NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns is in Spain right now playing for the Dominican Republic national team in the FIBA World Cup, but his father's charity is holding a big event close to his Piscataway home.
The KAT Team Foundation is hosting a back-to-school giveaway for students in need from grades K-12 on Sunday at All Season Sports Academy on Hamilton Boulevard in South Plainfield. The event runs from 6 to 9:30 p.m. It includes giveaways of backpacks stuffed with school supplies like folders, pencils, and calculators, plus two salons that will be providing free haircuts for boys and girls, as well as food giveaways, free Rita’s Italian Ice, and a disc jockey.
“It’s for any kids in need,” said Karl-Anthony’s father, Karl Towns, who runs the KAT Team Foundation. “We’re going to do this every August.”
The event is in honor of Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother, Jaqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in 2020 of complications from COVID, and of Daniel Nols, a Piscataway teen who died in 2014 of Ewing’s sarcoma. The elder Karl Towns remarried in November to Angelica Nols, Daniel’s mother.
“These kids are going to feel a lot of support and that’s the key – to let them know the community supports them,” Angelica Nols said. “It will be a fun event.”
Jaqueline Cruz-Towns was known for her kindness and generosity. She was a courtside fixture as Karl-Anthony rose from a prime recruit at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen to an All-American at the University of Kentucky to NBA All-Star with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Angelica Nols said her son Daniel also had a giving spirit.
So this giveaway is a fitting tribute.
“It’s something to bring everyone together,” Nols said. “It’s wonderful how a few phone calls made this happen.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Karl-Anthony Towns foundation holding back-to-school giveaway
