Jaylen Brown has always been vocal about social issues and has done a lot of philanthropic work. Recently the hooper made the news by teaming up with his Boston Celtics teammate Jrue Holiday not for a basketball-related thing but for something much bigger. Jrue’s wife Lauren Holiday also joined the duo to donate $100,000 each for the small businesses in Boston. This is a collaborative initiative between Boston XChange, which is Jaylen Brown’s initiative and JHL Social Impact Fund, a fund run by the Holiday family.

The donation was given to 10 small business owners in Boston to help them financially. These entrepreneurs are the future of the city and supporting them would mean “shaping the future of Boston’s culture and creativity”. Each founder part of the initiative will receive $100,000 in funding over three years, but that’s not all. They will also have access to mentors and services from partner institutes such as MIT, Harvard Business School, Roxbury Community College, and Suffolk University SEED Program.

This is the first program to come out of the Boston XChange that aims to generate $5 billion for Boston’s Black communities. Jaylen Brown said, “We know you love your sports … but I think there’s championships to be won outside of the game of basketball as well.”

Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren’s social initiative was founded back in 2020 after the George Floyd murder to support founders of color nationwide and has been very successful, giving away around $5 million to 200+ businesses and non-profit organizations. The Team USA Olympian also said, “This is my favorite part, where we can come in and we can see people talking about their dreams.”

What is Jaylen Brown’s Boston XChange?

When Jaylen Brown signed his supermax contract extension last summer with the Boston Celtics, worth around $285 million over five years, it was the most lucrative deal in the NBA back then. The hooper promised, “I want to launch a project to bring Black Wall Street here to Boston,” and added “I want to attack the wealth disparity here,” talking about closing the racial wealth gap in the city he stars in. Giving birth to the Boston XChange program.

JB wants to use his platform to raise his voice and for the betterment of his community. He has other initiatives, such as the 7uice Foundation, which aims to bridge the opportunity gap for black and brown youth. However, the BXC seems bolder, mainly because of its daring $5 billion target! It will aid small businesses and Jay is also looking for a prime location in Boston to build a state-of-the-art facility to nurture the creative economy. The initiative to provide mentorship, coaching, and resources to help start-ups succeed.

Jaylen Brown has already pumped in millions of dollars to make a lasting impact on the Boston community. Through his initiatives, he aims to give people a fair shot at their dreams and uplift minorities. In his words, he wants his work to “be part of my legacy while I’m here in Boston.” Its impact will be felt long after he’s done hooping. But, this is just the first step as the Celt’s aim is so much bigger!