It's all about the family. The Fredette family. They are some of the most giving people I've ever had a chance to work with. They're never takers. They are always giving. – Blair Giles, the president and CEO of the Fredette Family Foundation
Note: This is the second of a two-article series covering the Jimmer Jam Basketball Camp.
PROVO — There are plenty of sports camps featuring professional athletes across the nation, but Jimmer Fredette's Jimmer Jam Basketball Camp is unique. Basketball, of course, was a central focus, but there was another theme that made this camp different than any other: family.
After all, the organization behind the camp wasn't named after the former BYU star. Instead, the it is called the Fredette Family Foundation, and Fredette's family was very much involved in this camp.
"They pretty much run it all. They get everything set up," Fredette said. "Blair (Giles) and the interns with Blair, who is the president of our foundation, and then my dad and my mom and my brother and my sister pretty much run it. They get everything organized. They get all the teams. They get all the sponsors. They come in early and make sure the registration is good. They run the store. They pretty much do everything, and then I come in and just talk to the kids and interact with them and do anything I can, but those are the people that really run this thing."
"It's all about the family. The Fredette family. They are some of the most giving people I've ever had a chance to work with," said Giles, the president and CEO of the Fredette Family Foundation. "They're never takers. They are always giving."
Perhaps this shouldn't be too surprising to those familiar with Fredette's journey to the NBA. Family has been a key factor in Fredette's success from his time playing basketball with his family as a young child to his famous contract he made with his brother TJ promising that he would do what was necessary to make it to the NBA. Fredette's family has been with him every step of the way.
Maybe part of the reason this camp is so family oriented is because his family was involved when Fredette was participating in camps just like this one.
"I always tell the kids that some of my greatest memories were from 3-on-3 tournaments when I was younger with my dad and some of my friends from school," Fredette said.
But this camp wasn't just about Fredette's family. This event was all about supporting the families of those attending this camp. That's a central reason stopping bullying was a main focus of this camp.
"We want to help as many families as we can with the family foundation," Fredette said. "We got a lot of parents coming up to us as we were doing this to help their families, and they wanted to help their kids with being bullied. They'd come home and feel depressed. They'd go into their room and want to be alone and wouldn't want to be with their family because they had a tough day at school or wherever it was, and it was ruining the family chemistry, and they hated it. We empathize with that."
The Fredette Family Foundation has teamed up with Provo School District to help those who are bullied.
"We hope to be able to get these programs into these school districts to show the kids the importance of both standing alone and standing up for kids who are being bullied," Fredette said.
And it has already helped some children.
"We have received emails from families that have told us how these programs helped their kids tremendously just by another kid coming up to them and saying hey and inviting them to lunch or inviting them to their lunch table," Fredette said. "Simple things like that are what helps kids to want to help someone else."
"What I love is that they have focused on kindness and the anti-bullying message," said Jennifer Partridge, president of the Provo PTA. "To have a great role model like Jimmer up there telling the kids to be a good sport, to be kind that there are more important things and to reach out and help one another."
"The message is greater than the basketball," Giles said. "We tell them to come and compete and have a great time, but the reason why we're doing this is to build character and to strengthen families and youth."
So, while there are plenty of basketball camps out there run by many famous and talented professionals, this one stands out in its focus on the family. Perhaps that's what keeps teams — and families — coming back year after year.
Learn more about the Fredette Family Foundation's work on its Facebook page.
Lafe Peavler is a staff sports writer for the Deseret News. Follow him on Twitter @LafePeavler.