Through its marketing unit, the firm got Kmart involved in donating to a dozen community improvement projects, including the overhaul of a teen center in Goleta, Calif. and a newscoreboard for the gym at Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Ill.
The cost for even the largest athletics department would be negligible, yet history has shown time and again that a new weight room, scoreboard or better offensive coordinator are far more important than the welfare of student-athletes.