Royce White has big hands. From pinky to thumb, his hand is nearly 1 foot in length.

His hands have carried a lot of weight and done a lot of good. They’ve done things like throw flashy passes, make big dunks and hit game-winners.

Last Saturday night, he did something else with those hands: He gave back. 

In an effort to give back to his fans and the kids, White threw a party called Project XXX at Hickory Hall in Ames. 

“It was kind of spur of the moment,” White said. “I wasn’t really going to do anything for my birthday party, so I kind of just decided at the last minute that I was going to do something to give back.”

White chose to give back by donating all of the proceeds of his party to the Orchard Place, a Des Moines charity dedicated to “developing strong futures for children and youth with mental health and behavioral challenges,” according to its website.

“They’re a mental illness center for juveniles in Des Moines and they deal with behavioral and mental disorders,” White said. “They’re really a really good foundation. They’re really one of a kind.”

White said he chose Orchard Place because of its history. He also spoke there to a group of kids the week before.

“I went to go speak there a week ago,” White said. “A lot of kids wrote me and said how excited they were and that really inspired me. So here I am trying to do my part to give back to them.”

To the person on campus who didn’t know about Project XXX or what it was about, White coined it “A Cyclone Celebration.”

“Not saying I’m worthy of celebrating my birthday with the whole fan base, but the fans enjoy interacting with me and I enjoy interacting with them,” White said. “So it’s just something that we could do together.”

The ticket costs were a $5 cover charge to get inside, while VIP access was a $15 charge.

Those who wanted to be in White’s area had to buy an Ultra-VIP pass, of which only 25 were sold for $50 per ticket. 

The entire amount that was raised from Project XXX has not yet been totaled, but White said they raised $3,000 in ticket sales alone.