Drake and Toronto Raptors Donate Millions to New "Welcome Toronto" Basketball Program

The initiative will help fund Canada Basketball, as well as the refurbishment of local courts

Photo: Rick Clifford

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Jan 18, 2018

Just days after unveiling new OVO-inspired jerseys, Drake has revealed plans to strengthen his ties to the Toronto Raptors. Yesterday (January 17), the rapper and team president Masai Ujiri announced a new initiative called Welcome Toronto.
 
The program has been given a kick-start thanks to Drake and the Raps, who have donated $1 million to refurbish community basketball courts in Toronto. They also pledged $2 million to Canada Basketball.
 
"The thing I'm most proud of this partnership is the million dollars that we're going to be giving to the city to re-do these courts," Drake said during a press conference. "Hopefully to create an amazing atmosphere for anyone in that community to come out and either play casual basketball or potentially breed the next generation of Canadian superstar basketball players."
 
The Raptors will host six Welcome Toronto-themed games throughout the remainder of the team's season, during which the team will wear the black-and-gold OVO-branded jerseys, and unveil a fresh black-and-gold court design.
 
The inaugural Welcome Toronto night will take place on January 26 with a game against the Utah Jazz, followed by games on January 28 (L.A. Lakers), February 2 (Portland Trail Blazers), March 9 (Houston Rockets), March 23 (Brooklyn Nets) and April 6 (Indiana Pacers).

A longtime fan of the Toronto team, Drake was named the Raptors' global ambassador back in 2013.

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