Good sports
MLSE Foundation Gala pulls together a dream team
It’s not every day you see the biggest names from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto FC and the Raptors under the same roof. Well, dreams do come true as was seen at the Players’ Gala to benefit the MLSE Foundation, presented by BlackBerry. The Mattamy Centre ( formerly Maple Leaf Gardens) was the perfect venue to host this rare occasion, where sports fans are encouraged to mix and mingle with their favourite players, coaches and alumni. Patrons enjoyed a cocktail reception, seated dinner and lively auction featuring sports-centric items. Patrick Patterson of the Raptors brought down the house when he called the rookies ( Norman Powell and Delon Wright) to the stage and challenged them to sing Billie Jean to the crowd.
Even Michael Jackson would have been impressed with the off- the- cuff performance. Following that, more than $20,000 was raised when a once- in- alifetime experience was auctioned off to be Masai Ujiri’s guests to watch the Raptors take on Orlando Magic in London, England. The lucky bidder got to fly in style with the team on the Raps’ private charter and sit courtside to watch the morning shoot- around as well as a player meet-and-greet and dinner. Talk about a slam-dunk.
Net proceeds from this year’s event benefit MLSE Foundation’s ongoing $ 6 million capital fundraising campaign for their newest project, MLSE LaunchPad. A space vacant for two decades in the Moss Park neighbourhood will be transformed into a 42,000- squarefoot facility dedicated to Sport For Development programming. In partnership with Toronto Community Housing and City of Toronto, MLSE Foundation will create the first collaborative space in North America to leverage sport, education and research to promote social change.
“MLSE LaunchPad is the first facility of its kind in North America, built to provide sport and life skills programming for thousands of at- risk youth living in the Greater Toronto Area,” said Michael Bartlett, executive director, MLSE Foundation. “Our multisport courts and classrooms will provide youth with access to a space where they can get moving, get inspired and learn to compete in life. This project is a big step forward in our vision to improve the lives of kids through sport.” The space is scheduled to open in 2017. It was all very swish! Readers can learn more about the MLSE LaunchPad project by visiting MLSELaunchPad.org.