Athletes are not rewarded enough with media coverage of the great charity events they donate their time to, but we love to bring attention to the philanthropic efforts of current and former sports stars. Former Syracuse standout and ex New York Knicks forward John Wallace is one of those athletes, and rollingout.com was able to catch up with him recently.
TopSpin Charity will support youth education in New York City with its sixth annual charity table tennis tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. at 6:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. The event brings together sports and entertainment stars and executives to help raise funds for five organizations who are dedicated to helping underserved youth in New York City.
John Wallace talked about his relationship with the organization and how he got started. When Wallace met Peter Farnsworth, Founder of TopSpin Charity, he says “we hit it off,” and there was one obvious reason Wallace mentioned. “He’s a Syracuse guy,” he said with a laugh, but it was a lot more. Wallace was impressed with not only the dedication of TopSpin, but the results as well, as they have raised more than $1,000,000 for 14 nonprofit organizations, despite being founded in 2009. “I have been trying to help out in any way I can. It’s a great cause and we have raised a lot of money,” Wallace said of his work with the organization.
The former Syracuse baller also discussed why Wednesday is a fabulous event. “I love to play ping pong … it’s just a great night. It’s always a good time and it’s for a great cause.” Ever the competitor, I asked Wallace if he won the ping pong title last season. “For the betterment of the foundations, I had to let Jason Pierre Paul (of the New York Giants) beat me…because he really isn’t that good,” he said with laughter.
How good is Wallace? “Well, not to brag, but I’m really good. My game is different though. I have a little knuckleball, I have a curve. I’m like a junk ball pitcher in baseball,” Wallace said. I guess we will see Wednesday evening exactly what type of game he has.
Tickets for the sixth annual event are now on sale, $125 for event entry and $225 for table tennis tournament entry at www.TopSpinCharity.com. To learn more about TopSpin and its work to date, please visit www.topspincharity.com, and follow them on social media via our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TopSpinCharity), Twitter @TopSpinCharity and Instagram @TopSpinCharity.
