TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2018 – Fourteen-year-old Ontario painter Evan Sharma is partnering with CAN Fund, the leading supporter of Canadian athletes competing around the world, to donate a new work painted at 7,000 feet that will directly support athletes on their journey to wear the maple leaf on the world stage.
Sharma, who is also a competitive ski racer, has raised more than $20,000 for charities through his art. This work, titled From the Backcountry to Sky High Peaks, was painted on the slopes of Sun Peaks in British Columbia.
“We were thrilled to have an artist of Evan’s caliber donate his work to CAN Fund,” said Jane Roos, founder of CAN Fund. “As a painter and a skier himself, Evan embodies our mission of talent supporting talent, and represents a new generation of artists establishing Canada’s place on the global stage.”
CAN Fund has raised more than $30 million to support athletes representing Canada in global competitions. This winter, CAN Fund was responsible for supporting 80 percent of the athletes competing for Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the late Gord Downie are among the luminaries who have collaborated with Jane Roos to support CAN Fund. With every donation to CAN Fund, donors are informed of the individual athlete they have supported, demonstrating the impact of each donation on providing opportunity for Canada’s athletes.
“I wanted to give people, who might not ever be able to be up in the mountains, the feeling of the freedom that you feel when you are skiing above the trees,” said Sharma. “It’s such a privilege to get to share my experience with the world while also supporting Canada’s best athletes.”
Sharma will also be donating a pair of sneakers from his line of apparel, RBLB (Right Brain/Left Brain).