NBA player, former governor among those being honored as 'Champions for Children'

An NBA player, a former North Carolina governor and a retired state Supreme Court justice are among those who will be honored in Raleigh on May 3 at the "Champions for Children Gala" hosted by the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children.

The gala, now in its seventh year, will be held at the Angus Barn Pavilion. Those being honored this year "have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ensuring that all students, regardless of their economic circumstances, have access to equal opportunities for academic success," according to the organization. They include:

Beverly Perdue, a public school teacher and the first female governor of North Carolina. Since teaching in the classroom and then serving in the N.C. Senate, where she led the Education and Appropriations Committee, Perdue has worked to close the national achievement gap created by socio-economic disparities. She founded and chaired digiLEARN, a nonprofit institution designed to accelerate personal learning options for students and instructional opportunities for teachers. She has served as the resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. She was appointed by the U.S. Education Secretary to serve on the nonpartisan National Assessment Governing Board and is the first woman to chair that assessment board in its 30-plus year history.

Chris Paul, professional basketball point guard for the Houston Rockets and Winston-Salem native. Paul has received numerous awards for his athletic prowess: NBA Rookie of the Year Award to NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award to two Olympic gold medals. Paul was recognized as the 2016 Sports Humanitarian of the Year as a result of his Family Foundation, which donated more than $1 million to Boys and Girls Clubs Across America. His foundation places an emphasis on putting technology and computer labs in underprivileged, low-wealth schools.

Glenn Pierce, senior principle for family-owned Pierce Group Benefits. Pierce Group Benefits serves more than 150,000 public school employees in 96 school systems and 33 community college systems in North Carolina. Through his business, Pierce has forged partnerships with many community organizations, and they include supporting programs through the YMCA, Wake ED Partnership, Baptist Children's Home of NC, KICKSTART (The Tools to End Poverty), and Elon Homes and Schools for Children.

The Honorable Robert F. Orr, retired N.C. Supreme Court justice. After serving in the U.S. Army, he then served for 18 years on the N.C. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. He continues to practice law and has worked as an adjunct faculty member at N.C. Central University. Orr served as the executive director and senior counsel of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law and as a trustee of the University of NC Center for Public Television (UNC-TV). He will be memorialized for his work as a Supreme Court Justice in authoring the final opinion on the landmark Leandro public education litigation (Hoke County Board v. State), in which he declared that the State Constitution guarantees every child "an opportunity to receive a sound basic education."

Bishop J. Jasper Wilkins II, senior pastor of Wake Chapel Church and film producer. Wilkins is known for his sense of humor and his infectious energy. His motto is “Keep it simple and share a smile” but it is for his contributions to reaching vulnerable families and showing them that they are not alone that he has received the state's highest honor. The governor conferred upon him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Wilkins produces films through Wake Media Films about struggling families, most recently "There's My Angel." These films portray characters struggling with abuse, abandonment, drug addiction and poverty. “You have to help people where they are, not where you want them to be,” Wilkins said.  “It's the good, the bad and the ugly. Never, ever give up.”

The annual gala is the primary fundraiser for the NC Foundation for Public School Children. A silent auction and cocktails will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the award presentations at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to the 2019 Gala are $150 each and can be purchased at www.ncfpsc.org or by calling the foundation office at 984-222-3625.

The purpose of the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children, an NC 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to ensure that every child, regardless of financial circumstances, has the necessary tools to learn and grow, according to the group. For more than two decades, the foundation has provided eyeglasses, medication, clothing, school supplies, field trip assistance, and more to impoverished public school students.

The foundation also provides leadership to the Teacher Cadet program, which gives high school students who aspire to be teachers a comprehensive program to guide them toward that career. The foundation also provides grants to teachers to assist them in continuing their professional development.