Ricky and his son, Tyree (bottom left), donate food during Thanksgiving 2006.

The Ricky Davis Foundation strives to make a positive impact on youth in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and the Quad Cities area of Iowa by providing educational tools, mentoring and tutoring services, and assisting in the development of life skills. By providing these services and exposing the children to positive role models, the Foundation hopes to aid in their emotional and social development in becoming responsible, contributing adults.

In December 2006, Associated Press writer Jon Krawczynski detailed the extent of Ricky's community involvement in his article, "'Get Buckets' Gets Community Work." He writes:

Ricky Davis? Community conscious? Does that fit?

After watching Davis for nearly a year in the Twin Cities, it sure does.

The Timberwolves occasionally send members of the media e-mails alerting us to the different community projects in which their players participate. It's all part of the league's never-ending effort to accentuate the positives and hopefully divert attention away from the many arrests and other boorish behavior that often grab headlines.

And it seems like 75 percent of the e-mails include Davis in some fashion.

He's done everything from bringing Thanksgiving dinner to a shelter for homeless women and children, to holding a contest for season tickets.

And while many teams have to pull teeth to get their stars to participate in community programs, Davis initiates most of his projects. "He comes to us," Wolves spokesman Mike Cristaldi said.

In April 1999 while with the Charlotte Hornets, Davis donated $10,000 to help a local high school basketball player who was put in a coma after a car accident.

"Just growing up in the neighborhoods, being unfortunate and not being able to see certain stuff, see certain people until you finally get to college, it's a great feeling to finally be able to give back to certain people, feed them, and make them happy," Davis said.

That's not what many expected to hear when he first arrived in Minnesota last January in the Wally Szczerbiak trade.

He brought with him from Boston plenty of baggage. There were rumors of clashes with LeBron James in Cleveland, selfish play with the Celtics and being uncoachable at Iowa.

"You hear a lot of crazy stuff," Davis said. "Do you hear about the book and not read it just because you hear about it?

"Everybody who knows me knows what kind of person I am and who I am generally. When I hear other people still saying crazy stuff I just know they really don't know."