Basketball Hoop Fest Held For A Good Cause

MONTREAL — The ninth annual Hoop Fest, a day of basketball games organized by the Trevor Williams Kids Foundation and held at Lower Canada College, raised more than $50,000 this year.

The event, held May 5, played host to eight elementary school teams, 12 high school teams and 11 adult teams. They played a total of 35 basketball games; 130 volunteers and 350 participants and guests came together to support the foundation.

The School Court Challenge category comprised teams from St. George’s School of Montreal, Lower Canada College, JPPS, Akiva, Dawson Ballers, Roslyn, The Study, Howard Billings, Westmount High and Beurling Academy. Some schools sent more than one team. The Dawson Ballers are high-school students who play basketball with the Dawson Community Blues, a community outreach program of Dawson College.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., Pfizer Canada Inc. and Toon Boom Animation Inc. sponsored school teams.

The Hall of Fame, an adult/corporate Team category, comprised teams representing Gildan, CIBC, Costco, Davis Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Dawson D-Up, Big Red, Montreal Alouettes, Selwyn House Alumni, Peagsy Dream Team, Jewish General Hospital and Lower Canada College alumni and staff.

The Trevor Williams Kids Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to teaching life skills to youth: helping them stay in school, keeping them off the streets, and encouraging them to become contributing members of their community. Funds raised through the event will support such foundation programs as learning through sports, basketball, anger management, social skills, reading/math and after-school tutoring programs. Visit twkf.com to learn more about Williams and the foundation.

*****************

The Jeunes Gouverneurs/Young Ambassadors Committee of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal raised $30,000 for the company’s Nutcracker Fund for Children with a gala event held May 25 at Place des Arts. Myriam Mechouat and Jessica Drolet co-chaired the event.

More than 150 guests attended a cocktail dinatoire and a draw for prizes including a Kia worth $25,000, a pair of round-trip tickets to Europe courtesy of Air Canada and a catered dinner for four.

The draw was followed by a performance of the ballet that closed the spring season of Les Grand Ballets: Rêve, or Dream Away, choreographed by Stephan Thoss, who also designed the sets, costumes and lighting. The ballet played to a full house at Théâtre Maisonneuve.

The Nutcracker Fund for Children, created 15 years ago by the company, permits children from disadvantaged communities to attend a free performance of the popular Tchaikovsky ballet performed each year in December.

The Quebec education ministry, now involved in the fund, chooses schools at random from Montreal’s most disadvantaged communities to take part.

To date, the fund has permitted 19,000 schoolchildren to attend the performance.

By Susan Schwartz, The Gazette July 15, 2013