For 45 minutes, the basketball icon wore plastic gloves and served grapes, sliced fruit and cookies with a dinky plastic spoon to 250 kids.

They made him work, too.

"Grapes: We need more grapes!" Jordan said, as the line went from one dozen to three dozen kids in 5 minutes. "We're about to have a problem.

"Does anybody want cookies instead?"

It was among many humbling moments for a man who set out Monday to prove that his team, the Bobcats, are sincere in wanting to be good community partners.

The Bobcats planned the day as the formal kickoff of Cats Care, a charity program that has operated behind the scenes for months. It represents a push by the team to increase its charitable impact through focusing on three specific areas of need: education, wellness and the fight against hunger.

The day included a $250,000 gift to Second Harvest Food Bank and acts of volunteerism by players and staff at schools, shelters and soup kitchens.