Yao Ming and friends score off court

Submitted by CelebsGoneGood on Wed, 07/02/2008 - 09:50
 
 via yaomingfoundation

After the catastrophic earthquake in China, Yao Ming started his own foundation which raised over $3.5 million in its first week. All of the donations have gone directly to children affected by the quake which destroyed approximately 8,000 schoolrooms and 185 schools. “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, ” says the 7’6” basketball star. Fellow NBA stars like Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Marko Jaric and Marcus Williams have all donated to the foundation.

With the Beijing Olympics only about a month away, Yao plans on auctioning off some off some of his Olympic basketball gear for charity. "It's different from being an athlete. Basketball is just one part of my life. But my charity work is a lifelong career, " says Yao who is currently training with the Chinese National Basketball Team.

Submitted by CGG Youth Reporter Christine Lenzo

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musiqsoul says:

I take mandarin as my language in school, and my teacher, who was born and lived in China for most of her life, was very disturbed about the Earthquake. We watched a video of the earthquake on a Chinese website and what I saw was extremely scary and sad. However, people quickly came together to help one another, especially the children who were caught in the rumble. Yao Ming is our example of what we should have done when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Unfortunately years later New Orleans, specifically the lower ninth ward, is still waiting to receive the help that it really needs. That is wrong and hopefully we can unite to help the people who have suffered from this natural disaster.