Photo: TFC legend Danny Dichio coaches a group of kids at MLSE Team Up Challenge announement.

Flanked by representatives from Toronto FC, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Team Up Foundation officially launched the MLSE Team Up Challenge on Monday. The Challenge will be the premier event of its kind in Canada – an all-day sports tournament with 150 teams competing in soccer, basketball, and ball hockey. The event will take place on June 23, 2013 in Toronto, with the goal of raising one million dollars in support of Camp Trillium.   

“We’re very excited to launch an event of this magnitude with the opportunity to change the lives of kids living with cancer,” said Mike Bartlett, executive director of the MLSE Team Up Foundation.  “This is the ultimate sports challenge for the weekend warrior, but because we’re part of the MLSE family, we’re able to provide them with a truly pro experience like no other pledge fundraising event in the market.”

Through the Challenge, the MLSE Team Up Foundation has teamed up with Camp Trillium to give kids living with cancer and their families the opportunity to dream big through sports and recreational programming. Each of the participating teams will be paired with a Camp Trillium family who will serve as their honorary coaches to motivate them throughout their fundraising efforts. Funds raised through pledge donations from this event will be used to send more than 150 families from the Greater Toronto Area to camp.  

“In the three short years since we launched the MLSE Team Up Foundation, we have managed to invest more than six million dollars back into the community and positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of children,” said Tom Anselmi, president and COO, MLSE. “The MLSE Team Up Challenge will be the Foundation’s largest event and it will take our commitment to the community to an entirely different level.”  

Each year across Ontario nearly 400 parents will learn that their children have cancer. Only one place offers recreational experiences to kids living with cancer, their siblings and parents, so all together they can heal and have fun.  Camp Trillium provides more than 50 urban recreational programs and two summer camps for children living with cancer and their families.

“Camp Trillium and the MLSE Team Up Challenge share a commitment to children and community. Our new partnership will ensure that all children living with cancer in Toronto and the GTA will be able to attend the more than 50 recreational and camping programs that camp trillium offers in Ontario, said Marci Shea Perry, executive director, Camp Trillium. “Together we will bring fun and friendship during the cancer journey of children and their families in the GTA.”

In addition to providing competitors with the chance to excel in three sports, the Challenge will feature a day full of live music, celebrity appearances, interactive activities and more. The event will feature over 1,500 athletes on more than 150 teams. To learn more please visit Team Up Challenge or register online now.