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NEW YORK (Jan. 15, 2025) – The reigning WNBA Champion New York Liberty hosted their third annual “Season of Giving” community giveback campaign where throughout this holiday season, the team and a record 16 corporate partners provided exclusive gifts, services, and experiences to community organizations across the five boroughs of New York City.

Season of Giving encompasses each of the Liberty’s social responsibility pillars, BEUP, with the belief that service is at the heart of community building. These include growing youth Basketball, Embracing young women, championing Unity, and promoting Pride. This holiday season the Liberty and their corporate partners supported the community in the following ways:

BASKETBALL

The Liberty hosted a free basketball clinic for over 300 children, which was a team clinic attendance record, at Basketball City in Lower Manhattan. The clinic was free of charge and open to youth ages 8-16 where they were coached in basketball fundamentals including ball handling and shooting. Participants were gifted “Season of Giving” tote bags provided by Barclays, t-shirts, Wise chip bags, and Shake Shack vouchers. Liberty center, Nyara Sabally, surprised participants with an appearance at the clinic.

Hero Cosmetics donated 250 Hero Mighty Patch boxes, NYX Professional Makeup donated an assortment of fan-favorite cosmetic products, and Wise donated assorted chip bags to fill Barclays’ holiday tote bags for members of Pride Basketball League New York City’s Women’s+ league. Liberty staff visited the Women’s+ gameday to hand out the gift bags and additional gifts and informational pamphlets provided by RMA of New York. The Pride Basketball League provides a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies to play basketball and build camaraderie.

EMBRACE

Ticketmaster, the Official Ticketing Partner of the Liberty, hosted a group of 20 members from The Brave House in a luxury suite to experience the Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center on Dec. 8. As part of the experience, Ticketmaster provided participants with a tour of the Liberty’s locker room, complimentary shopping spree at the Brooklyn Fanatics Team Store, exclusive photo opportunities with the WNBA Championship trophy, and two tickets per person to a 2025 Liberty home game. The Brave House offers comprehensive support through legal advocacy, mental health services, and leadership development for immigrant women and gender-expansive youth who may have faced gender-based violence.

In the New Year, the Liberty and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield hosted honorees from their long-standing Shine Loud Sunday program at Barclays Center on Jan. 10 to recognize women changemakers from the local community. The event was centered around networking and a panel discussion focused on “Leading With Purpose”. As supporting partners of the event, Kickstarter provided materials highlighting their resources that help entrepreneurs bring creative projects to life, while Lyft provided ride credit for all attendees to use going to or from the event. The Liberty also invited members of NYC Celebrates Women to join the honorees and learn more about their business initiatives. NYC Celebrates Women amplifies women of color entrepreneurs through mentorship and elevating their businesses to end generational wealth gaps. Tied to the event, Anthem also donated to NYC Celebrates Women in support of their incredible work.

UNITY

On Dec. 20, Liberty staff and Nyara Sabally spent the evening providing dinner for The Bowery Mission’s emergency shelter in Tribeca. Shake Shack helped feed the community at the event by donating 200 meals for New Yorkers in need. The Bowery Mission serves vulnerable New Yorkers and provides services that meet their immediate needs and aims to transform their lives.

Olipop and the Liberty partnered to provide gifts for kids and teens, as part of the Coalition for the Homeless Holiday Toy Drive. The Coalition for the Homeless strives to end mass homelessness in New York through 11 frontline programs which provide immediate crisis support.

Xbox gifted two community organizations in each borough an Xbox Series S to support their youth programming. These community partners, who were identified by the Liberty, include:

• Manhattan:
  • Apex for Youth mentors youth from underserved Asian and immigrant communities in New York City.
  • Dunlevy Milbank Community Center is part of the Boys and Girls Club of America and has been a community support system in Harlem for generations.
• Queens:
  • Woodside Houses Community Center is part of Sunnyside Community Services and strives to enrich lives through services, beginning with those most in need.
  • Elmcor fosters positive life change in community members through self-sufficiency skills development and a strong empowered community.
• Brooklyn:
  • RiseBoro utilizes holistic community revitalization programs to ensure someone’s zip code does not ensure their outcome.
  • Cornerstone at Ingersoll is a resource hub for people to connect with each other, grow creatively, and explore new interests.
• Bronx:
  • Kingsbridge Heights Community Center embraces and empowers community – from cradle through career – to develop passions, potential, and durable pathways to well-being.
  • Southeast Bronx Neighborhood Centers develops and provides plans to turn their participants into leaders of community service.
• Staten Island:
  • Pride Center of Staten Island strives to enhance the lives of LGBTQ+ and allied participants by cultivating community and advocating for LGBTQ+ interests.
  • Goodhue Community Center provides a space for youth and families to engage in community activities and athletic programming.

Snipes donated 750 coats to the Brooklyn Nets & New York Liberty Foundation to support the New York Cares Coat Drive. New York Cares is a NYC nonprofit that connects tens of thousands of volunteers to local opportunities that provide essential support to New Yorkers who need it the most.

Nyara Sabally visited pediatric patients at Hospital for Special Surgery’s (HSS) Lerner Children’s Pavilion and distributed gifts to the children. As the Official Hospital of the New York Liberty, HSS has a long history of providing high-quality orthopedic and musculoskeletal care to the team, and also partners with the organization on community events that offer memorable experiences and resources to residents in the Tri-State area.

PRIDE

The Ali Forney Center received 250 Flamingo shave kits and assorted Wise chips bags as well as portable chargers and reusable water bottles provided by Barclays to fill their holiday gift bags. The Ali Forney Center is the nation’s largest provider of shelter and wrap around services dedicated to homeless LGBTQ+ youth. New York Liberty staff volunteered to help assemble the holiday gift bags for the center’s residents.

The Center received 30 connected health monitoring products including smart scales, blood pressure monitors, and thermometers donated by Withings, a global leader in connected health. The Center is a cornerstone for community resources and organizing for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, including providing physical and mental health services.