Nov. 8, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif - With the start of the 2011-12 basketball season just hours away, LMU men's basketball will still find time for its community service initative, LMU Cares. Continuing its partnership with Project Knapsack Inc., LMU Cares will be a sponsor at Project Knapsack's "Out Of Africa' charity event featuring guest speaker Luvuyo Mandela.

The event will be closed to the public and will be held an historical private mansion in Hancock Park. Luvuyo was born and raised in Durban, South Africa and plays an integral role in youth development and education on behalf of the Mandela family. Other sponsors of the event include South African Airways, Premiere Safari Tours, Maggie's Earth Adventures, The Kelter Center, Willet Travel and Gotta Have Smore'.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:00 p.m., Luvuyo will visit LMU and speak with students from Men's Basketball, the Black Student Union, MEKWA and other student affiliated groups on campus at "A Taste of Africa". The event is part of Word Fest 2011 - A Celebration of All Things International hosted by the Office for International Students & Scholars.

It will be held in St. Robert's Auditorium and he will talk about growing up as a part of the Mandela family and how that inspired him to continue to improve education standards amongst African Youth.

"We are thrilled to be able to have such a positive young person as Luvuyo to visit with our students and share his experiences growing up within a prominent family in South Africa and what inspired his work with education reform in the community." says Porcha Dodson, Founder of Project Knapsack.

As part of LMU Cares and the Project Knapsack partnership, members from the team and coaching staff visit students from the local Los Angeles community and provide alternative opportunities for students through education and physical fitness.

Through their partnership with Project Knapsack, a global pen pal and back pack exchange program, LMU Cares has been able to reach out too and provide programming and alternative opportunities for elementary and secondary students in the United States and in Africa.

For more information about attending the event on the LMU Campus, please contact Madeline Midas at mmidas@comcast.net learn more about Project Knapsack and how you can get involved visit www.projectknapsack.org.

The Lions 2011-12 season begins on Friday when they take on UCLA at 7:30 p.m. The game will be on Fox Sports West. The Lions will then play their first home game on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m.