Building on last year’s success, the program scaled up in its second year to inspire healthier lifestyles through basketball, with a 250% surge in participation
HONG KONG, Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Sun Life, in partnership with global sport for social change foundation Beyond Sport, has successfully completed the second year of their Hoops + Health community impact program. In its second year, the initiative impacted 42,000 lives in Asia, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to just over 48,000.
Launched in September 2023, the Hoops + Health program focuses on encouraging active and healthy lifestyles amongst young people across Asia through basketball. The program focuses on tackling rising levels of youth physical inactivity across six markets in Asia – Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore – with tailored local initiatives to ensure impact at a community level.
In its second year, the Hoops + Health program built upon the success from the first year, increasing overall youth participation by 250% compared to 2024. Close to nine in 10 young people (87%) said they now have more opportunities to be physically active as a result of the free-to-access basketball sessions. The number of upskilled coaches grew by 103%, and 94% of coaches who participated in the Hoops + Health workshop also believe the skills they learned will have a positive effect on the youth they support. The program also provided a total of 17,700 young people with access to higher-quality basketball equipment.
Shanelle Lim, a participant of Hoops + Health in Singapore, said, “When I first joined the Hoops + Health program, I was just looking for a place to play basketball, but it has turned out to be so much more. The program helped me improve my skills on the court, and also taught me about health, teamwork, and self-confidence. I’m now interning as a coach, and I couldn’t be more excited to give back by sharing what I’ve learned through the program and passing on the power of basketball to others in my community.”
As part of its ongoing commitment to combat rising physical inactivity, Sun Life increased its investment from 1 million CAD to 1.5 million CAD this year, aimed at driving impact across three areas: improving access to physical activity by providing safe spaces and resources in underprivileged areas; deepening engagement with local communities, coaches and Sun Life employees by organizing basketball events and educational workshops; and inspiring young people to lead more active lifestyles through free, regular basketball sessions.
David Broom, Chief Client and Distribution Officer at Sun Life Asia, said, “We’re incredibly proud of how Hoops + Health has grown in its second year. Hearing stories from people who have been part of the program and are now giving back to others in the community shows the true impact of what we are doing and how much the program means to the participants. At Sun Life, we remain committed to helping people live healthier lives by investing in communities, removing barriers and empowering the next generation to get active.”
Fred Fikouhi-Turner, Executive Director at Beyond Sport, said, “It’s been wonderful to see the number of active young people continue to grow in the second year of Hoops + Health. Through expanded youth programming, inclusive festivals and educational training adapted to each region, the program is reaching even more communities across Asia through the joy of sport. Beyond Sport is pleased to partner with Sun Life to use basketball to provide vital health and wellness skills that will last a lifetime.”
Read the full impact report here.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.54 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
Note: All currency figures are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise stated.
About Beyond Sport
Beyond Sport is a global foundation that leverages sport’s transformative power to address today’s critical social issues. It champions people, programs and communities that use sport to build opportunity and equity, creating a more inclusive and progressive world.
Since 2008, the foundation has raised more than $24 million to promote social change. It has granted over $14.3 million to 521 initiatives across 80 countries in addition to vital capacity-building tools, supporting leaders to create lasting impact. Learn more about the Hoops + Health program with Sun Life at beyondsport.org/hoops-health.
Media Relations Contact:
Becky Marshall
Director, Communications, Sun Life Asia
T: +852 6171 0312
E: becky.marshall@sunlife.com
Iris Ng
Account Director
T: +852 9838 3501
E: iris.ng@sandpipercomms.com
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