From Basketball Courts to Cultural Bridge: 30-Year Journey of Asian Roots Collective

Three decades ago, Clement Chu and his friends founded what would become the Asian Roots Collective with a simple dream: creating a safe space to play basketball. Today, that vision has blossomed into ARC World, a comprehensive cultural festival that celebrates Asian heritage while building bridges across Toronto’s diverse communities.
The transformation from the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association to today’s Asian Roots Collective reflects a broader understanding of community needs. What started as a Chinese-focused youth basketball program has expanded to embrace all of Asia’s rich cultural tapestry, incorporating food, art, music, and storytelling alongside athletic activities. The organization now serves as a model for how grassroots initiatives can grow into significant community resources.
Saturday’s inaugural ARC World festival at Toronto Metropolitan University represents the culmination of this evolution. The event features celebrity appearances from Simu Liu and Jeremy Lin in a basketball game, but the real stars are the community members, volunteers, and cultural ambassadors who will share their stories throughout the day. Chu particularly emphasizes the importance of engaging young people in community service, noting how the pandemic disrupted many traditional volunteer activities.
The organization’s growth is perhaps best symbolized by their journey from renting high school gymnasiums to owning a fully equipped community center in Markham. This facility now offers basketball courts, video games, art programs, and coding classes, demonstrating how the organization has evolved beyond its athletic roots while maintaining its core mission of bringing people together through shared activities and universal languages of connection.