On December 20, 2010, Raptors players and coaching staff spent the afternoon at the Hospital for Sick Children visiting patients and their families.

Since the Raptors inaugural season in 1995 the visit has been an annual tradition. This year the team spent time with young patients and their families, playing games and signing autographs. The children were delighted to receive gifts which included Raptors hats, flags and mini basketballs from their basketball heroes.

Players, coaches and children made connections that created lasting memories. The visit from the team gave reason for each child to smile for days to come.

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On March 1, 2010 MLSE teamed up with the Canadian Blood Services to hold the biggest blood drive in Toronto history. As a result of MLSE and CBS’ efforts, 558 people visited the clinic and an amazing 418 units were collected. This will save over 1,200 lives.

Appearances by community celebrities included current Maple Leaf defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, Maple Leafs alumni Wendel Clark and Darryl Sittler, and both the Raptor and Carlton the Bear mascots, and the Raptors Dance Pak.

As part of our Haiti earthquake relief efforts, MLSE and our partners sent a second plane load of supplies to Haiti on February 22, 2010. The flight saw desperately needed items such as canned food, baby formula, diapers, toiletries, clothing, bedding and medical supplies delivered by MLSE staff and representatives from partnering companies to two local Haiti relief agencies. The first flight sent out on February 16, 2010, delivered tents, hand sanitizers, shampoo and other supplies.

Support from our corporate partners and several local companies made this relief flight to Haiti possible. MLSE purchased medical and other supplies from local organizations and staff organized a clothing-drive that resulted in the collection of more than 5,000 pounds of clothing.

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On Thursday, December 17th 2009 head coach Jay Triano was honoured with the opportunity to run a leg of the Olympic torch relay as it passed through Toronto. He proudly represented the Raptors and the NBA as he held the torch high running through downtown Toronto.

Jay describes the run as one of his "greatest experiences of all time." Humbled by the others who ran with him he stated, "I played in three Olympics and coached in one and I felt inferior because of the other accomplishments they had."

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