“Every kid deserves that same opportunity”: How Paige Bueckers’ $50,000 gesture for wildfire-hit youth sports shows her giving goes beyond basketball

Paige Bueckers has found another way to use basketball to help young athletes. On March 14, 2025, the UConn star committed $50,000 to Good Sports’ Restore Play LA Recovery Fund, supporting youth sports programs affected by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. The money went toward equipment, apparel and footwear so children in hard-hit communities could get back to their sports programs.The contribution came with a simple idea behind it. Bueckers knows what sports can give a young person, and she wanted children dealing with the aftermath of the fires to have that same chance. Her work with Good Sports also showed this was not her first effort to put resources into youth sports.Paige Bueckers put $50,000 behind Los Angeles youth sports recoveryThe January 2025 wildfires caused widespread damage across Los Angeles, and youth sports programs also lost equipment and resources. Good Sports created Restore Play LA to help those programs replace what they needed to resume activities.Bueckers committed $50,000 to the effort in partnership with Good Sports and Gatorade. The organization planned to provide items such as basketballs, cleats, jerseys, nets and other essential gear to programs serving young people in the affected areas.Bueckers explained the personal side of the donation in Good Sports’ March 14 announcement.“Basketball has given me so much more than just a game,” Bueckers said in the announcement. “It’s given me a community, confidence, and a space to dream big.”She then pointed to the children who had lost access to those opportunities because of the fires.“Every kid deserves that same opportunity, no matter their circumstances,” Bueckers said in the same announcement.The goal went beyond replacing a few balls or uniforms. Good Sports said the initiative would focus on underserved communities in the areas hit hardest by the fires. The organization also viewed sports as a way for children to regain routine, connection and confidence during recovery.Paige Bueckers support for young athletes started before the LA wildfiresThe $50,000 donation added to a longer relationship between Bueckers and Good Sports. During her time at UConn, she had already helped the nonprofit provide more than $65,000 worth of new sports equipment and apparel to underserved youth programs in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Montana.That work included a surprise unveiling for a girls’ basketball team in Hartford, Connecticut.So the Los Angeles donation was not an isolated move. Bueckers had already used opportunities created by her basketball career to help young athletes who needed better access to sports.The impact of Restore Play LA continued well beyond Bueckers’ original contribution. By January 2026, Good Sports said the broader Restore Play effort had shipped 65 donations worth more than $1.54 million and served 34,471 children. The organization said the support helped schools reopen programs and community groups resume activities after the fires.For Bueckers, the message stayed simple. Basketball gave her confidence, community and a place to dream. Her $50,000 contribution helped give young athletes affected by the Los Angeles fires a chance to keep finding those same things through sports.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.