Canadian tennis legend Daniel Nestor and Rogers Cup Tournament Director Karl Hale joined forces at the Jamaica Summer Games and Wellness Festival in an effort to raise funds to build a school in 2020.
The Games took place at Ashbridges Bay in Toronto over the weekend of August 17-18 and included various sporting events, from pickleball and beach tennis to volleyball and ultimate frisbee. All proceeds went to supporting the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, a charity that will build its 21st school in Jamaica next year.
Nestor, an eight-time Grand Slam title winner in doubles, and Hale both grew up in North York. However, Hale’s roots are in Jamaica and he regularly visits and takes part in philanthropic projects in his home country. The duo were heavily involved in the organization of the beach tennis event in which 80 players took part.
“The Jamaica Summer Games and Wellness Festival is an incredible event to be part of,” commented Hale. “Daniel and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time helping with the organisation of the event and we are really looking forward to seeing all our efforts come to fruition next year when we go to Jamaica with our families to personally assist with building the school.
“We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all our partners and to everyone who attended the Games. We hope they all had a fantastic time taking part in the various sporting activities. We had around 400 participants in total, which is a tremendous turn-out.”
Aside from Hale and Nestor, other notable sports personalities involved in the event included former World No. 1 squash player Jonathan Power, ex-MLS MVP and Toronto FC star Dwayne De Rosario and former Toronto Maple Leaf and Stanley Cup champion Nick Kypreos.
