The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (PMAHCC) and Penn State Greater Allegheny (PSUGA) are partnering to host their 3rd annual basketball charity game on January 8th, 2022. This event was created by Jesus Torres and his planning committee to raise funds to benefit the PMAHCC Foundation Educational Fund and PSUGA’s scholarship program.
“I created the event three years ago, and I wanted to marry two things that I’m very passionate about. One of them is basketball. I’m from Puerto Rico, but I moved here to the States because I received a scholarship to play basketball. I moved my senior year of high school, and then I played a little bit of college basketball,” said Jesus Torres, Celebrity Basketball Event Chair at Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Partner at Davis Torres Financial Group.
“The second part is the importance of education and making sure that our future generations have the proper resources and help to be able to afford college. Specifically, here we are targeting the Latino community. I wanted to marry both of them together, so I created the event.”
This event will feature celebrity appearances from Nate Walker from American Idol, Carla Cortijo former WNBA and Puerto Rican National Team Player, Garrett Miller and Brandon Gomes from Siesta Key on MTV, Derek Frazier from Big Brother, Chris Edmonds former Cincinnati Bengal, and former Harlem Globetrotter player, members of the Steel City Yellow Jackets and many more.
The event will also feature a variety of games and prizes for attendees to enjoy.
“I created a planning committee, and we have people who have dedicated a lot of time to it. This year, we have someone from Penn State Greater Allegheny, Laura King, and my wife Elizabeth; they both have helped me so much. I’m grateful too for the players and coaches that have been helping with this event,” Torres said.
Torres said in the past two years of this event, they have raised between $23,000 and $24,000. He said this year so far, they have collected $25,000 just in sponsorships. “We have been growing since day one. Last year we had about 350 fans; this year, we’re hoping to have 500 or even more,” said Torres.
The charity basketball event will be held at Penn State Greater Allegheny on January 8th from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. A swag bag with snacks and gifts will be provided at the event. Tickets for this event make for a great last-minute holiday gift for the entire family!
Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.pmahcc.org/event-4411569.
To donate to the scholarship fund now visit www.pmahcc.org/donate.