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HEARTWARMING: Toronto Raptors Head Coach Goes the Extra Mile for a Fan

BySourabh Singh

Jul 21, 2020 | 10:22 AM EDT

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Toronto Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse is enjoying some spotlight during the NBA Bubble. Nothing that he does not deserve. His style of coaching reflects care and compassion for his men. He has undertaken too many unorthodox moves to make sure Raptors are a stressfree side off the court.

Now he is in headlines for yet another rare act of kindness. He has vowed a donation of $25K to a high school. Nick made $3.3 million last year. Though he is still far from the top-earning NBA coaches, his charity work makes his stature enormous.

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Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse is so full of surprises

Did you know that he had an artistic side to him? NBA coaching is also artwork at the highest level, but Nick has got some other talents as well. He plays guitar and runs Nick Nurse Foundation to empower kids and young adults.

He recently surprised a music teacher, Ms. Julia Jung from Mississauga, by extending generous and much-needed help. Ms. Jung wanted to keep her students involved with learning, even during the pandemic. She convinced her students to cover Years in the Making, a song by Hamilton rock band Arkells. She then texted the lead singer and got invited to join a video conference. In there, Nick Nurse joined and made a vow.

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“I’m a learning musician”– Nurse

Nick said, “We’re gonna get you some new instruments worth $25000.” He added, “I’d be lost without my music really and it’s part of the reason we’re focused on it in our foundation because we want to make sure everybody gets the opportunity to learn. I only wish I could’ve learned a little more when I was younger.” He also invited Julia, a Toronto Raptors fan, to come to a Raptors game once fans can watch games again.

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It’s all of our duty to build healthy communities that support our young people. We met Julia Jung – a high school music teacher from Mississauga, ON – on #FTCMusicClass this spring. Julia LOVES her students. In March, when she learned her students wouldn’t be returning to the classroom, she was committed to making distance learning as valuable as possible. She went back to her school, loaded up her car with as many instruments as she could fit, and dropped them off – one by one – to her students at home. However, the music program at St. Aloyisius Gonzaga is so robust the students have to share instruments. We wanted to help out. Huge thanks to @eone_music for this generous contribution in support of music education. ♥️ Thx to @Raptors head coach @thenicknurse for the layup on the surprise and @musicounts for their expertise.
A post shared by arkellsmusic (@arkellsmusic) on Jun 16, 2020 at 9:14am PDT

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Apparently, the inspiring teacher had loaded her car with music instruments to drop them at her students’ doorstep. Now for sure, she will need a bigger car to do the same. It delighted many of her former students who learned the news and praised their teacher’s efforts. We wish her luck and congratulate Nick for being a giver.