It’s a story we brought you right here on NBC6: a young Plantation boy was making money off mangoes to help his community and try to get enough funds for basketball camp.
His efforts caught the eye of the Miami Heat — and now, his goal is a reality.
Nicholas Spence, 12, was slaving under the hot sun, collecting hundreds of mangoes for neighbors, and splitting the earnings with them.
“I go out and ask people if I can harvest the mangoes, and we can, if they don’t want the mangoes, I can give them some money for it, or we can split the mangoes, you get 20 I get 20,” Nicholas told NBC6 back in May.
NBC6’s Sophia Hernandez joined him for a day of work and now shares how he’s spending his summer being of service.
Since that interview, he’s been filling up his piggy bank, and at the same time, his story on NBC6 caught the eye of the Miami Heat.
“There’s this kid selling mangoes to go to basketball camp, and for us, we are always trying to instill in kids to go and do something, if you want something to go after it,” said Julian Sanchez, the manager of JR Heat. “So, when we heard Nick’s story, he’s out there collecting mangoes to sell to go to camp, the fact that he did it and took the initiative to try and do it, why not bring him to the best camp in South Florida?”
The Miami Heat JR Camp was an unexpected surprise for Nicholas.
“I think it’s going to be fun, and I think I’m going to be way better,” he said.
His hard work now allows him to scrimmage, sweat, and perfect his craft.
“I love basketball, so I like it a lot, it’s better than sitting at home,” Nicholas said with a laugh.
He said that he has learned a thing or two both on the court and in his side hustle.
But the most important takeaway from collecting mangoes?
Nicholas first answered, “Probably meeting and talking to people.”
He then paused and thought.
“Also, I didn’t think it was that hard to work,” he said with a laugh.
“It was kind of hard at first,” he further explained. “I didn’t want to wake up and go pick up mangoes, but I started liking it and it made it easier.”
Since we last spoke, Nicholas said he’s collected over 300 mangos, a feat that’s paved the way for this week.
“I just want to say thank you, and it means a lot to me that people would want to help with this. It means a lot,” he said.
If you would like to learn more about JR Heat, click here.
If you would like to learn more about SoFla Boy Mangoes, click here.