Kawhi Leonard, Clippers Donate 1 Million Backpacks To Southland Schools

MORENO VALLEY (CBSLA) – Every student in the Los Angeles, Inglewood and Moreno Valley Unified school districts will be receiving a free backpack, just in time for the start of the school year.

The L.A. Clippers and their newly-signed superstar Kawhi Leonard announced Tuesday morning that they will be donating one million backpacks. The news was delivered during an event at Leonard's alma mater, Cloverdale Elementary School.

Tuesday marked the first day of school for LAUSD's approximately 600,000 students.

"My goal this year is to make a meaningful contribution both on and off the court," Leonard said in a statement. "This felt like the right way to get started. It was important to me to make this announcement in my hometown of Moreno Valley at my former Elementary School, but the benefits this program will have across all of Los Angeles makes today even more special."

The nonprofit group Baby2Baby partnered with the Clippers and Leonard to make the donation possible.

Leonard is a Southern California native. He played basketball at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside and spent two seasons playing for San Diego State University. Leonard signed a three-year contract with the Clippers this offseason after leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title.