BOSTON — Jrue Holiday’s two-year tenure in Boston technically ended in May. After he was traded from the Celtics to the Trail Blazers, Jrue and his wife, Lauren, packed up their family and moved to Portland, where the two-time NBA champion would join a younger, up-and-coming squad hoping to punch their first ticket to the playoffs since 2021 (spoiler alert: on Tuesday, they did just that).
But, though they physically left the city last summer, the Holidays’ off-court impact in Boston hasn’t waned.
In fact, their philanthropic collaboration with Jaylen Brown — which started a year and a half ago — is only growing.
How Jrue Holiday impacted Boston in two years
Holiday only spent two years in Boston, but it’s hard to describe his stint as anything other than a massive success. After earning All-Defensive honors and shooting a career-high 42.9% from three in the Celtics’ title year, he served as a pivotal part of the dominant 2024 championship run, responsible for key steals and defensive stops.
But off the court, his impact in the city extended even deeper than his on-court play, though much of his philanthropic involvement flew under the radar. Just a few months after the successful title run, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Lauren Holiday together launched the Boston Creator Accelerator, an incubator aimed at supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Greater Boston Area.
The Accelerator provided 10 creators with monetary grants totaling $1 million — as well as mentorship, resources, and direct access to Brown and the Holidays.
Year 1 of the partnership was an undeniable success. The Boston Creator Accelerator invested in ten startups, including the: Future Master Chess Academy, a chess academy for underserved communities that focuses on lifelong skills; Little Cocoa Bean Company, a cafe that creates culturally diverse and nutritious food for toddlers and kids; PYNRS, a streetwear-inspired performance running apparel company, and Everybody Gotta Eat, a food culture and catering company, among others.
Brown, who launched Boston XChange last season in hopes of supporting entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, was thrilled to collaborate with the Holidays.
“Sometimes, you’re asking other guys, they’ve been advised not to be involved because of whatever reason, I don’t know,” Brown said last season. “But Jrue and Lauren Holiday are great people. They’ve been doing this everywhere they go.”
It’s true: The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Foundation has operated in five cities since its launch in 2020: Los Angeles (Jrue’s hometown), Indianapolis (Lauren’s hometown), New Orleans (where Jrue played for seven years), Milwaukee (where Jrue won his first NBA title), and, now, in Boston.
In its first four years, the fund awarded grants of $25,000 to $50,000 to more than 150 Black-owned businesses and charities, while providing mentorship and resources that oftentimes far exceeded the financial support. Since launching, the monetary investment and hands-on support have continued to grow.
Though Jrue Holiday now lives in Portland, he’s investing in yet another Boston Accelerator Fund co-hort
For Lawyer Times, a lifelong chess player and instructor who had doubled as a post office worker for more than 40 years, the financial investment allowed him to retire from his day job and go all-in on the Future Masters Chess Academy. Lawyer’s wife, Angela, credits Brown and the Holidays for their unwavering belief in the vision.
“The Holidays have such a giving spirit,” Angela Times said. “They just want to create community and bring people together.”
Since joining the Boston Creator Accelerator, the Academy’s annual revenue increased from $50,000 to $300,000, said Renee King, who helps lead the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Fund.
“They all attribute it to the training the village that was wrapped around them, with the resources from all of the partners,” King said.
The initial cohort’s success has compelled Brown and the Holidays to bring in an additional cohort for Year 2. With the playoffs around the corner, they’re together investing another $1 million into ten businesses, with applications closing on April 21st.
Urina Harrell, the CEO of Vox Pop Branding, has long worked on the marketing side of the JLH Fund.
“This is a true partnership between the JLH Fund and the Boston XChange,” she said.
King said that Jrue and Lauren never considered ending their investment in the Boston community just because he was traded.
“Their ethos has always been any city that we are, that we’ve inducted into the JLH, we’re still locked into those cities, regardless of if they’re there to play,” King said. “They’re just used to the fact of like, this is what they were put here for, right? They come in, they touch lives, and then they go; they get pulled to another place, to do the same. We were still going to be locked in on Boston.”
Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown have influenced lawmakers on Capitol Hill
The Boston Creator Accelerator could have ramifications that extend far beyond the city; the start-up has also helped inform a new piece of legislation that is pending in Congress, the SPARK Act to Supercharge Minority Entrepreneurship Nationwide. The bill, introduced in February, is meant to spur entrepreneurship and increase access to capital and resources for underserved entrepreneurs nationwide.
“Yes, this is a great pilot. But, the work that’s being done here is being used to shape policy, and we know once we shape policy, then that’s the bigger ripple effect, right?” King said. “Like, we can help more people, because that’s the goal. The goal is to have more people coming together to help more businesses that are creating solutions that all of our entire world needs.”
For now, Boston will continue to benefit from the athletes’ private investment. And, King said it’s been a wonderful city to work in, in large part because of how collaborative the partners that Brown and the Holidays have brought in have been. That list includes
“You have so many folks who are just willing to work together, from government, private institutions, the athletes — it was a very good ethos,” King said. “It was a great place for this pilot to launch, to grow it, because you had so many things within that space that you could pull together. And the energy from everyone, the community around pulling it together was really great.”
Applications close on April 21st, and interested entrepreneurs can apply here.
“We’re looking forward to adding more people to the family,” King said.
The Trail Blazers’ playoff run begins on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs. As the team’s fourth-leading scorer, Holiday will be a crucial part of the team’s upset chances. Across the country, the Celtics begin their playoff run the very same day.
But Jrue Holiday and the city of Boston will forever be linked — even if the Hall of Fame guard never again dons Celtics green.
“Once you’re in the family, you’re always in the family,” King said. “That’s literally the ethos.”
