METTA WORLD PEACE A.K.A RON ARTEST DONATES $100,000 TO CHILDREN'S CHARITIES IN QUEENS!

The NBA star formerly known as Ron Artest was the first contestant bounced from "Dancing with the Stars" - but he has rebounded in a big way for his old neighborhood.

The edgy and eccentric member of the LA Lakers, who grew up in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, has donated more than $100,000 to charities in his former stomping grounds.

The hard-nosed defender, who legally changed his name to Metta World Peace last Friday, gave $65,000 to Long Island City-based Steinway Child and Family Services and $55,000 to The Child Center of New York, based in nearby Woodside.

He said he wanted to help Queens kids who face problems similar to those he overcame as a child.

"When I was 13, our house burned down and my mom and dad separated, and from then on I was really agitated and started getting in a lot of trouble," he told The Daily News. "My mom told me I had to see a counselor. He helped me a lot. Without him I don't know where I'd be."

Artest raised the money by raffling off his 2010 NBA championship ring.

"Queens is where I'm from. I want to reach that kid in Queens who's looking for that help," he said after a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles that marked the donation.

"Maybe there's a lack of support in their household, or they don't know how to be a good dad, a good role model or they're not being educated about mental health medication."

Representatives from both programs flew out for the checks and had front row seats in the DWTS studio audience Tuesday night.

"It was wonderful, but the judges were too harsh," Mary Redd, the CEO of Steinway, said about the hoopster's DWTS ouster. "We were sad when he was voted off, but he'll always be our hometown hero."

Metta World Peace, 31, said his charity presentation - which included donations to four other programs around the country - had "perfect timing" to help him get over his Tuesday night dancing disappointment.

"It wasn't a shock," he said. "I didn't want to leave, but I went out of there on cloud nine. It was so much fun."

"I think I'll be a better basketball player, lighter on my feet," he said.

He has courted a more positive image since a fateful NBA game in Detroit in November 2004, when he sparked the most notorious brawl in NBA history by rushing into the stands and attacking a spectator while playing for the Indiana Pacers.

He was suspended for the rest of that season.



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