Russell Westbrook teams up with The Little Kitchen Academy

NBA star Russell Westbrook's Why Not? Foundation has teamed up with The Little Kitchen Academy to launch a new initiative called Changing Lives from Scratch .

Westbrook tells KNX News' Karen Adams that the plan is to give kids here in L.A. and across the U.S. and Canada an opportunity to not only learn in the kitchen but also develop independence and social skills in an environment that makes them feel comfortable and confident.

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He says it's more than just about cooking. "It's bigger than that," said Westbrook. "I think that's the best part about [ The Little Kitchen Academy ], but cooking is a tool, and the space alone gives you an opportunity to create those social skills that you don't even know that you're creating."

Brian Curin, with the academy, said the way it works is, "Charities apply for a grant. It says we have this many children; we'd love our teens to come to a little kitchen for these skills. We then have a vetting process, and then we can go ahead and make that grant, and then those children can come to The Little Kitchen Academy ."

The three-hour cooking classes are for kids 3 to 18, who normally wouldn't have the opportunity. The Changing Lives From Scratch Fund hopes to provide cooking classes at the Little Kitchen Academy to 10,000 kids and teens this year alone.

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