What tipped off as a collaboration between Tony the Tiger and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal to create the first Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs is now helping middle schoolers nationwide gain better access to sports.
Tony and Shaq are teaming up again to unveil a Mission Tiger donation through education nonprofit DonorsChoose, which will impact more than 60,000 middle schoolers across the six cities where Shaq played professional basketball: Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando and Phoenix.
To take Mission Tiger to a whole new level and help even more kids, Shaq and Tony created Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs, which hit shelves earlier this year. And now, they are announcing a donation to middle schools in need, all thanks to fans nationwide buying boxes of the cereal and supporting Mission Tiger.
Tony and Shaq are surprising the students and coaches at six school districts: Boston Public Schools, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Los Angeles Unified School District, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Orange County Public Schools and Mesa Public Schools. The Mission Tiger donations will help provide new sports equipment, uniforms and training equipment, and repave sports courts and refurbish playing fields at middle schools in these six districts.
“Last year, as the need for school sports programs grew and shifted to accommodate the unique circumstance of virtual and hybrid learning environments, we doubled down on our commitment to helping more kids get access to sports,” said Brant Wheaton, marketing director of Kellogg U.S. ready-to-eat cereal segment. “As the new school year begins, with help from our teammate Shaquille O’Neal, Mission Tiger is here to help ensure games can resume for middle school athletes at these six school districts and across the U.S.”
The duo is pressing forward with Mission Tiger’s goal of helping one million middle schoolers gain better access to sports by the end of 2021. As teammates, they first helped middle schoolers in Philadelphia get back on the court in 2020. With the new cereal, they can help even more kids.
“Seeing my face on a box of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, my all-time favorite cereal, is a dream come true,” said O’Neal. “What’s even better is that our new cereal will help kids across the country gain better access to sports. Sports teach invaluable skills that will impact these kids for the rest of their lives.”
“Thanks to Mission Tiger and Shaq, we will be able to make much-needed improvements to the sports facilities and equipment at our school,” said Seth Daub, principal at Academic Center for Excellence in Orlando, Florida. “This Mission Tiger donation will help the students in our school have better and safer access to sports, and I know the impact will be felt near and far at the other schools receiving Mission Tiger donations to improve their sports facilities.”
Since 2019, Battle Creek, Michigan-based Mission Tiger has helped more than 760,000 middle schoolers nationwide gain access to sports by refurbishing sports facilities, providing team jerseys, equipment and more.
For more information and to support the mission, visit MissionTiger.com.
