A pair of former Chicago Bulls, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, have always been active when it comes to charitable work. Deng and his Luol Deng Foundation have done a lot to grow basketball in his home country of South Sudan. Noah has maintained his Noah’s Arc Foundation in Chicago throughout and after his playing career.
Wherever it may be, both players have left a lasting impact on communities through their altruism. The latest chapter in their charity work brought Deng and Noah to Rwanda, where they attended and inspired the youth attendees at a Shooting Touch event.
Shooting Touch
Via the Shooting Touch website, here is some background info regarding what the organization does.
“Shooting Touch is an international sport-for-development organization whose mission is to use the mobilizing power of basketball to bridge health and opportunity gaps for youth and women facing racial, gender, and economic inequalities.
Founded in 2007, Shooting Touch utilizes an award winning, beneficiary driven sport-for-social-development model that invests in youth and women of color by providing increased access to physical activity and health education and interventions that encourage healthy habits and future personal development.
Since its inception, Shooting Touch has grown from a grassroots basketball program in Boston into an international non-governmental organization that has served over 200,000+ youth and women in six different countries. Using the mobilizing power of sport and turning courts into classrooms, the organization works to achieve three critical objectives: Promote equal access to physical activity, Increase access to health education & health services, Promote social change.”
Both Joakim Noah and Luol Deng posted content from their time in Rwanda on their social media pages. Noah shared a clip of him hyping up the youth, a sound that Bulls fans dearly miss.
The last time Chicago Bulls fans saw both players together was October 28, 2021 for Joakim Noah Night at the United Center. Seeing them meet up and inspire the youth in the basketball community only adds to why they are so beloved.
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