Nike Foundation gifts $5M to Obama Foundation

Artist’s rendition of the Obama Presidential Center ~Courtesy of the Obama Foundation

The Nike Foundation announced a $5 Million gift to the Obama Foundation last week for the creation of a public space to promote physical activity. Located in the South Side of Chicago, it will be the first presidential library with an athletic center, according to Nike’s Chief Social and Community Impact Officer and President of it’s Foundation, Jorge Casemiro. Nike and the Obamas have a history working together, beginning in 2013 when Nike gave a five-year, $50M grant to support the then-First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative. The Center will be one of four main buildings on a 19.3 acre campus currently being planned within Chicago’s Jackson Park and will exemplify a physically active President, who was often photographed shooting hoops, passing footballs, playing golf, and recently– kitesurfing. While filling community needs in the underserved South Side, the new center will focus on “the transformative abilities of sport, something that the Nike Foundation and Obama foundation really believe in,” says Casimiro. Activities at the center will range from dance classes to pickup basketball and the other buildings will house public meetings, programs, and the library. A two-acre playground, jogging paths, and new gardens will be features of the landscaping. The Obama Presidential Center is expected to open to local residents and the public by 2022.