Life happens fast. In an anything-helps effort in a time of need, to step away from the core cause here for a brief moment – there is an announcement about contributing to the “Mamba on Three” fund setup by Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, through the Mamba Sports Foundation to help the honor the Team Mamba family and the families affected by this horrific tragedy.
Donating to the Mamba on Three Fund
After days of silence, Vanessa Bryant has made a statement on the passing of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna. During this post, she also took the opportunity to tell the public where they can donate to help the families of the other victims involved in Sunday’s helicopter crash.
- The helicopter crash on Sunday took the lives of Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan.
- Donations for the victims are being accepted at MambaOnThree.org.
There are many families and fans dealing with heartbreak right now over the tragic helicopter accident that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, though they are far from the only victims. The crash also took the lives of John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan. Zobayan was the pilot of the helicopter, who was taking the group from Orange County to Mamba Sports Academy.
The world is a little dimmer without these individual, and the family has understandably been private and silent with their devastation for the last few days. However, Vanessa Bryant has broken her silence in a grief-stricken statement that she posted to Instagram to her followers, paired with a picture of their family before the tragedy.
Vanessa thanked “the millions of people” who have showed their love to the Bryant family through the last few days. She expressed that her daughters and herself are “devastated by the sudden loss” of Gianna and Kobe, adding that these same emotions extend to the families of the victims involved in the crash as well.
The gut wrenching post goes on, as Vanessa explains the pain that she shares with her family and the victims’ families right now. Still, grief is a deeply personal experience, and she asks that the public “grant [them] the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality.” That being said, the clear need for support for the other families involved is evident, and Vanessa used the Instagram post to announce an initiative.
She said, “To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org.” The phrase “Mamba on Three” is a mantra that Team Mamba uses to promote the comradery between the people involved to promote sisterhood and rising to the challenges that people may face. The website presently doesn’t have the option to donate, but visitors just need to leave their contact information to be contacted about donations when the website is fully functional.
Vanessa also urges the public to continue “Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports” by visiting the official website for the Mamba Sports Foundation – MambaSportsFoundation.org.
Our hearts go out to all of the victims and families of the victims involved in the crash – John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan. Please donate to https://mambaonthree.org/ to support these families during this tragic time.
A Moment of Reflection
The world lost an icon in Kobe Bryant.
As a last word, the sudden passing of The Black Mamba, aka Kobe Bryant; a legendary person, father to four beautiful daughters, husband of twenty years, Academy award winner, pioneering entrepreneur and basketball great among so many other well-deserved descriptors – needs a proper tribute just to say thanks for being a real leader, winner and trendsetter in life. Among many blessings and gifts Kobe presented during his 41 years on Earth, the Mamba Mentality is something every one of us can experience, enjoy and expand upon in our own unique ways. The weighted-expression carries so much meaning to anyone and everyone. It is all about rising to the occasion, putting our best foot forward and doing the preparational work ahead of time for when it matters most. The Mamba Mentality was, is and will always be so relatable to us all. To find an edge, not be afraid of the moment, have the killer instinct to accomplish greatness, that's who and what Kobe did as a person and lead by example to teach us all an invaluable lesson that far exceeds and transcends the game of basketball.
Heck, he was even working on a new trademark for the brand Mambacita, a name he coined for 13 year old daughter, Gianna, aka GiGi. Bryant, who many may know for his memorable basketball accomplishments as well as being one of the greatest athletes of all time, was even more known for his loving ways with all of his daughters, even prompting a #girldad trend to start in wake of these hard to accept occurrence of events:
Shoutout to every #girldad out therepic.twitter.com/vX7rDB6aJB
— WNBA (@WNBA) January 29, 2020
If there is anything to add about why HealthMJ wanted to help share the news is because it all matters towards the our health, livelihood and well-being as a whole. Sharing is caring, and as the saying goes, giving is always better than receiving. Visit the Mamba on Three donation page and enter your email on mambaonthree.org website to get follow up information and help in anyway possible.
Carrying on the Legacy
Many people know Kobe Bean Bryant as the heir to Michael Jordan's throne, where MJ dominated the 1990s and Kobe took the reigns in the next decade with Lebron James in right on his heels and mixed in there. Ironically, on Saturday night Lebron James passed Kobe Bryant on the NBA's all time scoring list, where the Black Mamba congratulated King James on getting his 33,644 point and surpassing him for number three on the list, behind Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In what would be his last public tweet, Bryant congratulated James on the feat and even propped him up to keep advancing the game they both cherish deeply.
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother ?? #33644
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
The night before, James, had all the right things to say about the Laker legend and basketball great after moving up the all time scoring ranks:
We close in saying the same thing James said in his first public message since, penning a heartfelt message to Kobe’s family and about their basketball brotherhood and bond.
We echo the same sentiments in saying, we love you Kobe, Thanks for being you!
