NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving among listed donors for Modesto street singer Dellanora Green
The Christmas Eve death of Dellanora Green, a Modesto street singer, caused hundreds of people, including Brooklyn Nets All Star point guard Kyrie Irving, to spring into action.
Among the names of donors to a GoFundMe appeal on behalf of Green’s family three days ago is that of Irving, who appears to have given $22,000. As of noon Wednesday, the page had raised $38,380, more than doubling its $15,600 goal.
Green, 61, had been hospitalized after learning she had ovarian cancer, according to Green’s daughter Ashley Owens. While in the hospital, Green caught COVID-19 and other infections.
Owens started the GoFundme appeal for funeral expenses on Christmas that has more than 460 donations.
According to multiple reports, Irving has been known to donate to those in need online.
He has continued to give despite the loss of sponsors, including Nike, for his comments against COVID-19 vaccinations and his recent antisemitic post on social media in late 2022 that resulted in a brief suspension from the NBA.
In November, he gave $50,000 to help Devin Chandler, a University of Virginia football player who died in a shooting, and $22,000 to Destiny Thompson, a college student at Howard University who set up a GoFundMe to help fund her education, among other donations in recent months.
While Irving has been reportedly linked to multiple giving efforts and GoFundMe donors are not anonymous, Irving and the Nets have not commented on his contributions. The Bee was unable to reach Irving’s representatives for comment.
Owens posted an update on the page Dec. 31, before Irving’s donation: “Thank you all for your continued support! Once I gather more information I will let everyone know about when the service will be. Thank you all. I just know this would have made her so happy knowing how much she meant to everyone and how much she meant to Modesto.”
Green told The Modesto Bee in a 2012 interview she was raised in east Oakland. She returned to Modesto to look for family and ended up staying. She spent many years living at the El Capitan Motel.
Green said in 2012 that she made $40 to $350 a day in donations from her impromptu listeners. That year, she recorded a 10-song CD titled “Woman of the Ghetto” and performed at the annual Modesto Area Music Awards.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 12:55 PM.
