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Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom apparently do not have their own soon-to-be-born child on their minds. The NBA star and his pregnant reality television star wife run a charity called "Cathy's Kids," named after Lamar's mother and focusing on cancer research for underprivileged youth. Well, that is what it is supposed to be concentrating on. According to reports from numerous sources, including ESPN, the couple's charity could be considered a scam since it does not truly do what it says it does.
Here is the "Cathy's Kids" mission statement:
Cathy's Kids was founded by Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom in March 2004. It was developed as a means for Lamar to streamline all his charitable efforts and focus on making a positive impact on the lives of under-privileged children, as well as targeting a disease that has played a significant role in his life, cancer. Lamar lost his mother to stomach cancer and subsequently is committed to help causes that are focused on finding a cure and helping people who suffer from the disease. Lamar is focused on ensuring that funds are available for under-privileged youth that live in the inner cities of New York and Los Angeles. It is important to Lamar that young people, especially between the ages of 9-14, have the resources they need to get all the opportunities available to succeed in life.
According to an investigation by ESPN, no funds have gone towards cancer research but instead have focused on two elite you basketball teams. The sports network reported, "Of the $2.2 million raised by the charity, at least 60 percent -- $1.3 million -- went to those AAU teams."
Also, a chunk of the funds raised the charity apparently went into the bank account of its secretary, longtime friend and best man to Odom at his 2009 wedding to Khloe, Jerry DeGregorio. Once the high school basketball coach to Odom and now an assistant coach with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, DeGregorio was reported to have earned an annual salary of $72,000 from 2004 to 2011 from the charity. The only problem with that is the fact that "Cathy's Kids" was operating at a loss at that time. According to reports, 2011's tax return for the charity showed a debt of $256,000.
The charity is also supposed to be "dormant for years" and its website is not up and running, but it is still fundraising and Khloe has continued to sell her clothes on eBay under the charity's name.
Here is a video report by ESPN that focuses on athletes' charities. It opens with its claims about "Cathy's Kids" and goes into other charities that it investigated:
