The second annual Ballin' Out For Charity event is coming to Toronto in a few weeks, bringing back one of the real estate industry's most anticipated charity events.
Organized by BLACKLINE and RAD Marketing, the event will see professionals from all across the industry — construction companies to brokerages to developers — come together for a one-day, three-on-three basketball tournament to raise money for the MLSE Foundation. Fan attendance is encouraged too, so you don’t need to be an athlete (or even be athlete-adjacent) to participate.
The MLSE Foundation uses sports to help empower tens of thousands of youth across Ontario, making it an apt choice for Ballin' Out For Charity.
"We're not only trying to raise funds for a great cause, but also promote values of teamwork and sportsmanship, and philanthropy," said Tim Ng, Principal and Founder of ADHOC Studio and BLACKLINE.
Last year at Ballin' Out For Charity, Ng says they were able to raise over $70,000 for the 2023 recipient, Daily Bread Food Bank. The support they received from industry professionals who wanted to come out for a good cause (while shooting some hoops) was overwhelming.
"It was unbelievable," Ng said. "We had a ton of big developers and different consultants sponsoring the event, participating, and forming teams as well."
This year, they hope to surpass that number, having secured an even larger venue — University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre at 100 Devonshire Place — with over 20 teams expected to participate in the tournament. Every team will play two games (each 20 minutes in length) with the top eight teams then progressing to a championship playoff. The event is open to players of any skill level. In fact, there will even be a chance for children to participate in a kids-only game around lunchtime.
It's not about who wins or loses — although members from the defending championship team will be back to guard their title. It's "really just to have fun and support a good cause," Ng says, whether that’s on the court, or courtside. Fans are encouraged to fill the stands while players work up a sweat.
Ballin' Out For Charity
The event itself was born out of a shared love for basketball among industry professionals. Ng says that a few years ago, he began playing pickup basketball games with other Toronto real estate industry professionals.
"It started to get really popular, so then it kind of stemmed into people that were playing in this pickup game, they were like, 'Can we do something a bit more formalized where it's a tournament for charity?'"
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For those who want to support Ballin' Out For Charity without having to work up a sweat on the court, there'll be plenty on offer throughout the day to be enjoyed. Think raffles, a live DJ, food stations, networking opportunities, caricaturists, t-shirt graffiting, and photo ops. But perhaps most exciting is the planned special guests: Toronto Raptors' MC Mark “Strizzy” Strong (who will host the charity event) and the Toronto Raptors mascot himself.
Fan attendance tickets, as well as team registration forms, are available on the Ballin' Out For Charity website.
This year's sponsors include big names in the industry like SKYGRiD, Slate Asset Management, Mattamy Homes, EllisDon Developments, and Great Gulf, among many others.
Ballin' Out For Charity will take place on Saturday, April 27 at University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre, starting at 8:30 am.
STOREYS is an official media partner of Ballin' Out For Charity.
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This article was produced in partnership with STOREYS Custom Studio.
