For more than two decades, the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletics Association (CCYAA) has supported thousands of youth across the Greater Toronto Area, nationally in Canada, and internationally in the United States.
Their programs not only promote sports engagement and healthy lifestyles, but also provide youth with a strong sense of community along with opportunities for fair play. CCYAA is most notable for their presence in basketball which draws support from prominent athletes and celebrities.
Annually, CCYAA hosts a charity basketball tournament, the CCYAA Celebrity Classic, that draws many high-profile celebrities from the Asian American and Canadian communities. This year, more than 20 notable individuals from the Asian American and Canadian communities came together in Toronto’s Goldring Centre to raise funds for the Jeremy Lin Foundation and the CCYAA.
Participants in this year’s Celebrity Classic and Youth Jam included Jeremy Lin, Simu Liu,
Andrew Phung, Young Mazino, Olivia Cheng, Adrianne Ho and more go head-to-head on the court.
See also: Asian celebrities shoot hoops, give back in basketball showdown
Before the game started, Simu Liu invited Clement Chu, CCYAA’s President and Founder to present a $50,000 donation to CCYAA. This generous donation will help CCYAA continue to empower young, Asian youth in basketball and sport.
“Asian kids need to be proud of who they are and that’s something we’re seeing increasingly hard to do in 2023,” says pro basketball player Jeremy Lin.
Meanwhile, Lin’s initiative, the Jeremy Lin Foundation partners with grassroots programs to serve low income AAPI and cross-racial youth across the United States.
Canadian representation at the Celebrity Classic
Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan shared her vision for what Asian Canadian heritage stories she wants to see showcased in media. As a proud Tamil Canadian, Ramakrishnan shares that the…
Read the full article here
