Look To The Stars News: Yao Ming Foundation

Yao Foundation and the Bush & Clinton Fund Are This Year’s Rocket Recipients

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:30:00 -0000

The Rocket’s 13th annual Tux & Tennies Charity Gala, coming in February, will award the event’s proceeds to the Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund and the Yao Ming Foundation.

The basketball team wanted to help local communities rebuild after the effects of last autumn’s Hurricane Ike. But team player Yao Ming has another passion as well – his Yao Ming Foundation, created last spring in his country of origin, China.

Rockets.com quoted team owner Leslie Alexander: “There is still much work to be done in China to recover from the devastation that was caused by the earthquake there last May. Because these two natural disasters have affected so many lives in areas close to our hearts, I wanted to find a way to provide assistance to both causes.”

Having raised $5 million from the galas so far – over $750 thousand at last year’s alone – Alexander is confident that he can contribute significantly to both charities. “There’s no reason we can’t help the Chinese people, also.”

Yao Ming travelled for a few days in China after last summer’s Olympics. “I’ve seen many children studying outside or in some very poor classrooms,” he told Rocket.com. “My foundation is rebuilding the schools which were destroyed by the earthquake, but also in the future we’re talking about helping the Houston community build schools, too.”

The Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund is also aimed at rebuilding community services as well as infrastructure for the hardest hit. This is the third joint effort of these two former US presidents, after Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asia Tsunami.

Nicole Richie Wants To Give You A Fruitcake For Christmas

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:00:00 -0000

Tony Hawk, Nicole Richie and Fall Out Boy are on a mission to “re-gift” the classic fruitcake this Christmas with a new charity application on Facebook.

“The fruitcake has always been a bad gift. You never eat it or keep it. You just always end up re-gifting it,” said skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. “This year we’re changing the fruitcake and making it a symbol of giving and charity.”

Two-pound fruitcake bricks will be given away through a PayPal application on Facebook to benefit the stars’ favorite charities. Recipients will be invited via a personal video to contribute through PayPal to the charities and “re-gift” the fruitcake to friends and family all across the world.

“We’re trying out different kinds of technology and approaches to get people involved and learn about causes,” said Joel Madden. “This time, it’s a fruitcake.”

Celebrities will kick off the fruitcake’s virtual voyage starting with 10 friends each. As the fruitcakes make their way across Facebook, recipients can choose to donate to the celebrity’s cause or continue the fruitcake’s journey simply by re-gifting to friends for free. The Re-gift the Fruitcake program is presented by PayPal, which will make a $20,000 donation to each celebrity charity.

The charities that will benefit from the initiative include the Tony Hawk Foundation, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, the Yao Ming Foundation, the Richie Madden Children’s Foundation, the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation, and Invisible Children.

“By re-gifting this fruitcake you will help build more than 8,000 Classrooms and give children the education they deserve,” said Houston Rockets’ Center Yao Ming.

The initiative can be accessed through http://apps.facebook.com/regiftthefruitcake or www.regiftthefruitcake.com.

Yao Ming To Raffle Olympic Tickets For Earthquake Relief

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is raffling a trip to the Beijing Olympics to raise money for the Yao Ming Foundation, which he launched to help victims of the May 12 earthquake in China.

Tickets to the raffle, which can be accessed via www.netraffle.org, cost $2 each, and will give one lucky winner round-trip airfare from a US city to Beijing, a seven day stay at a hotel in Beijing from Aug. 7-14, two tickets to the China-USA basketball game at the Olympics, $1,500 cash, a guided tour of the Great Wall of China, two Houston Rockets jerseys autographed by Ming, two tickets to a Rockets game, and a chance to meet Ming after a Rockets game.

“I’m so proud that my country is hosting the 2008 Olympics,” said Ming. “I am thrilled that I can help fans visit China, experience the Games and, at the same time, help raise money for the Yao Ming Foundation as we begin our campaign to rebuild schools in the earthquake damaged provinces.”

Ming established the Foundation to raise funds and awareness of children’s wellness and welfare issues in China and the United States and address the immediate needs of the children in the Sichuan and Gansu provinces affected by the devastating quake. The basketballer raised over $3.5 million within a week of launching the Foundation, and said its first projects would involve rebuilding schools and providing sports equipment and other forms of help to children left homeless by the disaster.

The raffle winner will be announced on July 21.

Yao Ming To Build Schools In China

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Following the devastating earthquakes last month in China’s Sichuan and Gansu provinces, Yao Ming – Chinese center for the Houston Rockets basketball team – felt compelled to do something and to do it quickly… so he created the Yao Ming Foundation.

In the long term, the Foundation will “raise funds and awareness of children’s wellness and welfare issues in China and the United States.” But more importantly in the short term, it will address the immediate needs of the children in China affected by the quake, specifically the need for earthquake-proof schools.

“It is very hard to put into words how difficult it is to see this kind of destruction,” said Yao. “My thoughts and actions are now focused on helping to rebuild the schools that were destroyed in this tragedy and I hope that others around the world will join in our efforts.”

More than 185 schools were destroyed during May’s earthquake. The Yao Ming Foundation’s website says, “A donation of $100,000 will rebuild a permanent school for approximately 300 students while a gift of $3,500 will provide one prefabricated classroom for 50 students, including desks and chairs.” By working with proven charities, the Foundation will build safe replacements schools and then focus on youth related causes on both sides of the world.

The Houston Rockets, colleagues such as Steve Nash, and many others are answering Ming’s call. Launched only a few days ago, the Foundation raised over $3.5 million in the first week.

Look To The Stars News: Yao Ming Foundation

Yao Foundation and the Bush & Clinton Fund Are This Year’s Rocket Recipients

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