Rockets owner Alexander to donate $4 million to charities

HOUSTON (AP) Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is donating a total of $4 million to eight undetermined charities in the Houston area.

The pledge was announced Tuesday, and prospective charities can go to Rockets.com to get information and register to be considered. The selected organizations will be announced during an event in January.

No criteria are specified for applying charities, but Alexander has said he hopes to help organizations that aid immigrants and those that care for orphaned animals.

Alexander took over as owner of the Rockets in 1993 and established the Clutch City Foundation in 1995. The foundation funds and operates programs benefiting thousands of children every year.

Alexander says ''you should have an obligation in your own mind to constantly give back'' if you have the means.

He and the Clutch City Foundation have given more than $25 million to charities throughout the city. Alexander's last major donation came when he gave $500,000 to the Houston Storm Relief fund after flooding ravaged the area in April.

Alexander says ''when I bought the team, I said we'd try to do two things, give back to the community and win. And we keep trying to do that.''