NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady today announced plans for his 3rd Annual T-Mac Celebrity Softball Tournament. Slated for Saturday, August 4th, the pool play charity tournament will be held at Baseball U.S.A., located at 2626 West Sam Houston Parkway North, with gates opening at 2 p.m. and play scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the renovation of the library and technology area at Kashmere Gardens Elementary School, located in Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) Kashmere Feeder System.

“I am really excited about the impact we have made in the Houston community over the past two years,” said McGrady. “We just opened a state-of-the-art technology center and library at Betsy Ross Elementary School – last year’s recipient. This event keeps getting bigger and better every year and CleRenda and I are looking forward to raising even more money for Kashmere Gardens Elementary this year.”

Last year’s event raised more than $150,000 that – along with donated services from Jamail Smith Construction – was used to construct a much-needed technology center and new library for students at Betsy Ross Elementary School. The new areas feature sleek wooden floors, new furniture and student desks, hundreds of new books and reference materials, and a variety of learning tools – including 30 state-of-the-art laptop computers, which were donated by NetSync.

As in previous years, some of the top names in the NBA will join corporate-sponsored teams for the double-elimination tournament. The charity weekend will begin with a launch party on Friday, August 3, at Jillian’s in the Marq*E Entertainment Center, 7620 Katy Freeway (Silber Exit), followed by a comedy show at the Improv, featuring nationally-renown comedian Eddie Griffin (“Under Cover Brother”).

General admission tickets for the softball tournament will go on sale at the Toyota Center box office and online at www.toyotacentertix.com on Tuesday, June 26. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets can also be purchased by calling (866) 4HOU-TIX.

The Tracy McGrady Foundation’s mission is to empower, encourage and enrich the lives of all youth by promoting education and literacy. Because childhood years are the most crucial stage in the learning process, aiming for academic excellence is essential. Through advocating the necessity of education and literacy in the primary years, the Foundation aims to challenge all youth to reach their optimum potential in life – to go beyond the ordinary and to become extraordinary.