Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James helping kids save planet.

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Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James helping kids save planet.
23 hours ago
AKRON, Ohio — NBA star LeBron James has a new teammate who'sjust as popular. The guy has a few holes in his game and happens tolive in a pineapple under the sea.
SpongeBob SquarePants won't help James win any NBA titles, but theCleveland Cavaliers' superstar has paired up with Nickelodeon, thehome of SpongeBob and his ocean-dwelling cartoon chums, to raiseawareness about the environment.
Beyond the global-awareness message - part of Nickelodeon's BigGreen Help campaign - James is hoping to educate kids on theimportance of exercise.
"We're trying to get kids out of the house," Cleveland's all-starforward said while dressing in his trailer after filming the PSA,which will air in mid-July. "Get outside, ride bikes, play hoops.
"And in this, we're trying to save water and do other things thatcan help the environment. ... It doesn't take much to recycle a canor turn the faucet off."
At age 23, James is still a kid at heart. A big SpongeBob fan, thetwo-time Olympian is also a father of two young sons, and heunderstands the impact he can have on shaping other kids' lives.
"They are our future," he said as his one-year-old, Bryce, beggedfor daddy's attention. "You never forget things when you're a kid,so every time I do something I like to have it involve kids.
"I was at my basketball camp earlier and the memories those kidsmade are going to stay with them the rest of their lives. What I dois kid driven. I don't do it because I have to. I want to."
In addition to being more socially conscious on issues like theenvironment, James has broadened his interest in politics, anothersign of his maturity off the floor.
Two weeks ago, he was part of a group who had dinner in New Yorkwith Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama, the presumptiveDemocratic presidential nominee.
"It was an unbelievable experience," said James, who took hisgirlfriend, Savannah, with him. "It was mind-boggling."
James has no plans to campaign for any candidate, but he intends tostay up to date on important issues.
"I'm not so far into it. I don't feel I need to be hands on intoit," he said. "You want to keep athletics and politics separate. Idon't want to start getting up on panels or talking about Barack or(John) McCain.
"I'm aware of what's going on not just with the presidentialelection. You want to be aware of gas prices and other things.Being a father and being responsible for my kids, I want to knowwhat's going on in our world."
Nickelodeon, famous for kids shows where contestants get "slimed"with a green, gooey mixture, found that kids - and their parents -wanted to know more about their world, too.
After getting feedback from folks eager to learn more about waysthey can help the environment, Nickelodeon developed its Big GreenHelp initiative and launched it in April.
James is featured on Nick's website in a game where kids navigate abike-riding LeBron avatar down an obstacle-filled dirt road. Theanimated hoopster delivers "green" tips along the way on how tohelp the planet.
"We found that parents weren't sure what they could do," saidNickelodeon's Jean Margaret Smith, who overseas all the network'spro-social campaigns. "We're connecting the dots for them."
As for connecting with kids, that's where James comes in. Hiseasy-going personality and approachable manner, along with beingone of the world's most recognizable athletes, has made himpopularity with kids and adults.
Everyone seems to like LeBron.
"He's got a real charm and real connection with kids, and it is sogenuine," said Smith, who noted that James gave his input into thegame's design. "He's excited to be involved."