CLEVELAND, Ohio – LeBron James is now trying to help Akron adults get their GEDs by using the same basic principles his charitable foundation designed to help children stay in school and graduate. 
 
 Under a new partnership announced Thursday with Project Learn of Summit County, which exists to help adults get their GEDs, parents of the children enrolled in the LeBron James Family Foundation's scholastic mentorship program can get financial and emotional support to obtain high school equivalency credentials and learn other life skills. 
 
 Since 2011, James' foundation has targeted poor, at-risk Akron school children and their families to help keep the students in school and the parents engaged in their children's education. 
 
 That program, called Wheels for Education (for grades 3-5) and the Akron I PROMISE Network (sixth grade and up), now has more than 1,000 enrolled and free college scholarships to attend the University of Akron waiting for those who graduate from an Akron high school and fulfill some additional requirements beginning in 2021. 
 
 James seeks to inspire the children by writing to them personally and engaging them on social media. Children and their families are also eligible for prizes, often in the form of gifts (from one of James' corporate sponsors, such as a Samsung tablet) or cash for groceries. 
 
 The new program for adults is called "I PROMISE, Too" and so far counts nine adults – who will be taught by instructors from Project Learn. Again, only parents or guardians of children in James' mentorship program are eligible. 
 
 In the new program, enrollees received an inspirational letter from the Cavaliers superstar basketball player, HP laptop computers that they can keep if they finish the classes, and free bus passes and parking to attend class. 
 
 Participants will also have covered the $6 cost to take the GED practice test and $120 cost for taking the entire, official GED exam. The foundation will also provide prizes for good attendance, work progress, and other achievements. 
 
 For instance, six adults who attended an informational meeting received music speakers from Beats by Dre. 
 
 "We are so excited about the I PROMISE, Too program because a huge part of our foundation's work (with children) centers around parent involvement," Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, said in a news release. "This is an opportunity to help our parents make strides in their own academic careers so they are better equipped to help our students keep their educational promises. "We can't reach our students without their parents' support, so this program is monumental for our families and their futures." 
 
 Alexia Harris, communications manager for Project Learn, said between 1,300 and 1,400 adults either take classes and/or the GED test through her organization each year. 
 
 She said 110 GEDs were awarded out of Project Learn last school year, which was down slightly from previous years. 
 
 "It takes a lot of courage to start classes to earn GED once you've been out of school for years, even decades," Harris said. "Definitely, things can get in the way of completing the process, things like work or family issues. With the LeBron foundation, we're working with these parents to be as accommodating as we can, and the incentives can help. The laptops, for instance, that's a cost to them that they won't have to bear." 
 
 The James foundation spends at least $1 million per year on education. According to federal filing documents required of all non-profit organizations, the foundation spent $903,000 on its Wheels for Education program in 2013 – the last year for which data was available. 
 
 At that time, James' program had roughly 600 students – compared with 1,000 now – and of course no adult literacy program. 
 
 The James foundation will not cover the costs for those college scholarships in 2021 -- as erroneously reported by some other outlets. Instead, the University of Akron will pick up the tab. ||||| LeBron James, basketball star, movie star and philanthropist, announced last month that he would be helping up to 2,300 students get through school, but he's not stopping there — he's going to help their parents, too. 
 
 James announced last week that he and his foundation, in partnership with Project Learn of Summit County, will help parents of children enrolled in the LeBron James Family Foundation's mentorship program who want to obtain their GEDs. 
 
 The LeBron Foundation, which mentors poor, at-risk children in James's native Akron, Ohio, last month announced a partnership with the University of Akron to pay college tuition costs for students under its tutelage with the "I PROMISE" initiative. 
 
 The new program, called "I PROMISE, too," will give the parents of those students "financial and emotional support to obtain high school equivalency credentials and learn other life skills," reports Cleveland.com. 
 
 Under the program, those enrolled will have costs covered for their GED practice exams as well as for the exam itself, and will receive HP laptops (which they can keep if they finish the classes), free bus passes and parking to attend class, as well as prizes for progress and attendance — in fact, six of the nine adults currently enrolled got Beats by Dre speakers for attending an informational meeting. 
 
 "It takes a lot of courage to start classes to earn GED once you've been out of school for years, even decades," Alexia Harris, communications manager for Project Learn, told Cleveland.com. 
 
 "Definitely, things can get in the way of completing the process, things like work or family issues. With the LeBron foundation, we're working with these parents to be as accommodating as we can, and the incentives can help. The laptops, for instance, that's a cost to them that they won't have to bear." 
 
 "We are so excited about the I PROMISE, Too program because a huge part of our foundation's work (with children) centers around parent involvement," Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, added in a press release to The Huffington Post. "This is an opportunity to help our parents make strides in their own academic careers so they are better equipped to help our students keep their educational promises." 
 
 "We can't reach our students without their parents' support, so this program is monumental for our families and their futures."
– Through his foundation, LeBron James spends at least $1 million every year to educate the poor and at-risk children of his native Akron, Ohio, Cleveland.com reports. Now, he's doing something for their parents, too. Last week, the LeBron James Family Foundation announced a partnership with Project Learn of Summit County to help the parents of kids in the foundation's mentorship program get their GEDs, according to Mashable. James' foundation will pay for the GED exam and practice tests, as well as provide free bus passes, parking, and laptops the parents can keep if they finish classes. And participants will get prizes for progress and attendance. For example, six enrollees who attended an informational meeting received Beats by Dre speakers. "This is an opportunity to help our parents make strides in their own academic careers so they are better equipped to help our students keep their educational promises," the foundation's executive director says in a press release. Cleveland.com reports more than 1,000 children are enrolled in the foundation's mentorship program, and nine parents are already participating in the new GED program. It's been an education-focused summer for James, to say the least. Last month, the basketball superstar announced a partnership with the University of Akron to cover tuition for 2,300 students beginning in 2021.