In honor of Black History Month, Lapstone & Hammer will be using our platform to share the stories and amplify the work of three amazing philanthropists who are making invaluable contributions in diverse communities throughout the city of Philadelphia.

To kick off the BHM Spotlight Series we are spotlighting Rahim Thompson. Rahim is a local legend in the city's basketball community for founding The Chosen League - one of the country's biggest high-school basketball leagues, but it is his work with the Team Thompson Family Foundation that we want to call attention to here.

Rahim and his wife Tanisha started the foundation after noticing the devastating effects that a lack of access to food, clothing, hygiene products and education had on communities during their travels across countries like Nigeria and Haiti as well as here in the U.S. They saw there was an urgent need for hope in these underserved communities, and decided to start the Team Thompson Family Foundation with the mission is to help remove the worries of hunger, illiteracy and hygiene poverty of underprivileged families by providing them with the necessities and resources they need to strengthen their home and community.

Hygiene poverty in particular has been a focus of the foundation, as it tends to get overlooked by the general public. Hygiene Poverty - the inability to afford everyday hygiene products like toothpaste or deodorant - is a vicious cycle that is hard to overcome, not only affecting a person's physical well being, but can have long lasting effects on self worth and self respect as well. It was through his own life experiences that Rahim learned the magnitude of hygiene poverty and how it affects underprivileged families in the city of Philadelphia, making it more difficult to find employment or succeed in school.

Utilizing the connections Rahim and his family have made with many important people and local organizations through The Chosen League over the years, the Team Thompson Family Foundation has created a thriving network of supporters that have allowed it to distribute thousands of hygiene products, meals, toys, coats and shoes in need in just a few short years.  

For more information on the Team Thompson Family Foundation, the work they do, and how you can help, please visit their website here.