Trail Blazers big-man Kurt Thomas joined Blaze the Trail Cat and Kia Motors to honor the efforts of students at Russell Academy. Each student was challenged to keep track of their spring break reading by logging the minutes that he or she read each day. Their efforts were be celebrated by Kia Motors and the Trail Blazers' Read to Achieve initiative, which encourages youth to read outside of school.

The Portland Trail Blazers celebrated a public-private partnership with the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission and Corix Utilities through an unveiling of the Corix Living Wall at a press conference at the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

Portland Trail Blazers President Larry Miller and Christenson Electric President Mark Walter got an assist from Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber to unveil what is now the region's largest publicly available electric vehicle charging site on Friday, March 30.

Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews is the recipient of the Kia Community Assist Award for February in recognition of his outstanding efforts in the community and his ongoing philanthropic and charitable work, the NBA announced today.

The Trail Blazers third annual NBA Fit Spring Break Hoops Camp took place March 26 through March 28 at PCC Sylvania.

The camp, sponsored by Rebound Orthopedic and Neurosurgery, featured appearances from Interim Head Coach Kaleb Canales and guards Jamal Crawford and Wesley Matthews.

Trail Blazers rookie Nolan Smith, Blazer the Trail Cat and other Trail Blazers staff members participated in an interactive, fun assembly to congratulate the Felida Elementary community on their continued excellence in raising funds for the American Heart Association through the Hoops for Heart and Jump Rope for Heart programs.

Trail Blazers Hasheem Thabeet and Jonny Flynn spent the afternoon with kids from the Children's Cancer Association in Tualatin at Portland's practice facility. The visit was part of the Block Out Cancer program, a partnership between Genentech, the CCA and the Trail Blazers. Genentech donates $25 to CCA every time the Trail Blazers block a shot.

On Friday, March 2nd, Harrison Park School exploded with screaming applause. Portland’s own Rhino, Craig Smith, paid tribute to Dr. Seuss’ birthday by visiting 400 deserving students as a part of NBA Cares’ Read to Achieve initiative.

Volunteers don’t give back for recognition, they do it because giving back warms their souls.

It’s for this reason the Portland Trail Blazers and Hands On Greater Portland partner each year to present the Heart of the Community Awards. Started in 2002, the awards aim to give a deserving nod to those volunteers who carry the banner of volunteerism deep into the Portland community.

Nolan Smith has been in pressure situations before. After all, he headlined at a top-flight high school program at Oak Hill Academy before playing four years at Duke, the preeminent college hoops program in the world. He's won National Championships and has been named First Team All American, honors that are typically bestowed upon those who have the ability to remain cool and calm under stressful conditions.

The Trail Blazers will pay tribute to some of Portland’s African American leaders throughout February. Trail Blazers president Larry Miller will participate in the “Get in the Game” Barbershop Initiative. The event, created by former honoree Karanja Crews, promotes reading and educating youth about African American history. Miller will also be honored by SEI at its Black History Makers event on February 27.

Reaching and Empowering All People Inc. (REAP) will host the 2012 Men of Legacy Luncheon on February 16, 12pm-1:30pm (pre-reception at 11:30am) at Rose Garden, Rose Room, One Court Center, Portland, OR 97227. The cost of the luncheon is $25.00 dollars. Registration is available online at www.reapusa.org. Students are admitted for FREE.

On a January afternoon in Portland it was raining. No big surprise there as the wet and cold are trademarks of winter in the Pacific Northwest. The difference on this day came at the hands of Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews. Fresh off a six-game road trip, he spent the better part of the afternoon at a local Fred Meyer kicking off the second annual Fred Meyer Coat Drive.

The saying "Home for the Holidays" rings very close to our hearts this year. Trail Blazers basketball is officially back and starting here at the Rose Garden during the best time, the holiday season. This year, we're excited to share a handful of very special stories about some of the local charities that truly symbolize what it means to be a Trail Blazer. Each of these non-profits has dedicated themselves to the same mission that the Trail Blazers have, to make it better for children and their families where they live, learn and play.

The Trail Blazers teamed up with Providence Health & Services, Central City Concern and several community and corporate partners and local agencies to serve 5,000 homeless, underserved and/or critically-low income individuals during the 16th annual Harvest Dinner at the Rose Garden Thursday afternoon.

The Portland Trail Blazers have partnered with Wells Fargo to tip-off the month of November with its inaugural Can Hunger initiative, an organized effort to raise awareness and help address the growing issue of food insecurity by benefiting Oregon Food Bank.

Ever involved in the community, three high-level members of the Portland Trail Blazers organization participated in the Portland Schools Foundation Principal for Almost a Day program on Thursday. Alumni Ambassador Chris Dudley and VP of Communications and Community Relations Traci Rose acted as principals and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Mensah hosted the luncheon honoring the partnership between schools and the community.

Blaze and make it better volunteers were out in force Saturday, October 8 at the Portland Marathon Kid’s Fun Run and Festival at the Lincoln High School track. From the pop-a-shot to the water station to the medal awards, make it better volunteers were everywhere.

Rick and Nona King seemed to do everything right. They met at church and courted for around two years before getting married. A few years later, they had their first child, a son. Another couple of years, another son. With a household of four, it made sense to squirrel away any savings they could muster in an attempt to buy their own home.

The 'Home Team Challenge' campaign tips off Thursday, Sept. 15, with the largest one-day build in the 30-year history of Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East.

The city of Portland welcomed sports and sustainability executives from across the country earlier this month for the inaugural Green Sports Alliance Summit. The three-day event, hosted by the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), utilized an array of stories, case studies, lectures, panels, breakout groups and site visits to demonstrate and share the best sustainability practices with industry leaders.

For the fourth straight summer, representatives from the Portland Trail Blazers - including broadcaster/alum Antonio Harvey, assistant coach Kaleb Canales and ambassador Dale Schleuter - embark on a road trip in Kia Sorentos and head out of town to meet Trail Blazers fans and host youth basketball clinics in Medford and Eugene.

The city of Portland welcomed sports and sustainability executives from across the country this week for the inaugural Green Sports Alliance Summit. The three-day event, hosted by the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), utilized an array of stories, case studies, lectures, panels, breakout groups and site visits to demonstrate and share the best sustainability practices with industry leaders.

Glitz and glam, humor and humility. Uniting to fight Parkinson’s disease. The second annual Brian Grant Shake It Till We Make It! Celebrity Gala took place at the Rose Garden Sunday night. The home of the Portland Trail Blazers was transformed into a spectacular ball room to host the hundreds of guests in attendance, all committed to raising money for an important cause, the battle against Parkinson’s.

From recreational players to elite competitors, Trail Blazers Street Jam has games for all ages and abilities. All net proceeds from Street Jam benefit Special Olympics Oregon, a non-profit statewide organization whose theme is to "Inspire Greatness" in athletes, volunteers, and the community.

Monday morning saw the kickoff of Nate McMillan's Nike Hoops Camp at the Trail Blazers practice facility in Tualatin. The five-day camp focuses on important aspects of the game like fundamentals

As the summer progresses, more and more teams of make it better volunteers are getting out in and around Portland. On a recent Sunday morning, a make it better team participated in the Be the One Run 5K Run and Walk along Naito Parkway. The Be the One Run benefited the Be the Match Registry, which offers people the unique opportunity to help a patient by donating bone marrow or umbilical cord blood.

The Nike make it better Hoops Clinics tipped off with more than 100 campers in Oregon City July 14. Clinic director Todd Bosma, and the exceptional staff of make it better coaches, met the eager and boisterous group of campers in the old Oregon City High School gymnasium for a morning filled with Trail Blazers basketball, laughter and a couple of special guests.

The make it better summer hoops coaches piled into two new Kia Sorentos and ventured up I-5 for the only Washington stop on the 2011 Kia Motors Presents Statewide Summer Tour, at Ridgefield High School. The kids, most of whom had come from another sport camp that morning, were eager to learn the play basketball the Trail Blazers way.

The Trail Blazers tipped off the 2011 Statewide Summer Tour, presented by Kia Motors, on the first Thursday in July at the Police Activities League Gym in northeast Portland. More than 50 eager young hoopers learned Blazers basketball from the make it better hoops coaches, led by Todd Bosma.

A group of Portland Trail Blazers representatives will hit the road for the fourth consecutive summer to host youth basketball clinics, visit broadcast affiliates and meet Trail Blazers fans throughout the state during the 2011 Kia Motors make it better Statewide Summer Tour.

On a sunny day in mid-June, make it better employee volunteers teamed up with Windermere staff to spend the morning at the Trail Blazers Boys & Girls Club getting the facility ready for a flurry of activity as the club staff prepares to host nearly 1,500 club members over the summer months. The volunteer efforts were a part of a day-long community celebration hosted by Windermere Real Estate, the make it better foundation, and the Trail Blazers celebrating the completion of facility upgrades which included a “Blazerized” face lift to the lobby and soundproofing in the gymnasium.

Parkrose’s Russell Academy held a special celebration with help from Trail Blazers Broadcaster Antonio Harvey and Blaze the Trail Cat on Friday. This year, Russell Academy finished first out of 594 schools in Oregon, southwest Washington and Idaho in the Pennies for Patients campaign. Pennies for Patients is a three-week challenge, hosted by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where students collect change, host events and raise other funds for patients fighting those cancers.

Another day, another parade. Trail Blazers mascot Blaze and some of the youngest citizens of our fair city took to the streets of NE Portland Wednesday to participate in a 104 year old tradition.

Trail Blazers Ambassador Dale Schlueter and Blaze paid a special visit to the eighth grade class at Parkrose Middle School. They were there, along with Trail Blazers arena host Todd Bosma, to host the Trail Blazers first ever NBA FIT clinic, sponsored by Rebound Orthopedic and Neurosurgery.

The Portland Trail Blazers are the first major sports team to earn LEED Gold status for a major league sports facility, a milestone in the greening of sports, the team announced.