Toronto Raptors player Gradey Dick engages with young athletes from Lay-Up, a charity serving Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, at a basketball clinic where Gillette announced its support for Lay-Up’s Coach Development Pathway. (Photo: Business Wire)
Gillette Canada’s Jennifer Seiler speaks to youth from Lay-Up Youth Basketball, announcing Gillette’s partnership with the charity and its support for Lay-Up’s Coach Development Pathway. (Photo: Business Wire)
New basketball partnership supports youth in Toronto's Neighbourhood Improvement Areaswith access to positive role models and development of young basketball coaches.
TORONTO, February 19, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gillette, the world’s leading expert in men’s grooming, is proud to announce a new partnership with Lay-Up Youth Basketball, a Toronto-based charity that harnesses the power of basketball to develop skills and confidence in young people from Toronto's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. This partnership is rooted in Gillette’s global ambition to make an impact with millions of boys through the power of role models. Together, Gillette and Lay-Up aim to provide the children and youth Lay-Up serves with access to positive role models while fostering the development of young basketball coaches, shaping them into impactful leaders both on and off the court.
Through this partnership, Gillette is supporting Lay-Up’s Coach Development Pathway—an evidence-based approach grounded in best practices in sport-for-development. This pathway helps the young people Lay-Up serves develop and transition into coaching roles within the program, providing year-round employment, certification, experiential learning opportunities, and mentorship. The pathway equips coaches at all experience levels with the skills and resources needed to make a lasting impact in their communities.
A new survey by Gillette Canada1 highlights a clear need for more positive role models for boys in Canada. Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians believe boys don’t have enough access to positive role models, and 91 per cent agree that having a role model benefits boys in the long term. Yet, only 55 per cent of Canadian men had a role model growing up, and 81 per cent of those who didn’t have a role model believe having one would have helped them.
Gillette believes the bond between a coach and a young athlete is a relationship grounded in trust, guidance, and inspiration—qualities that make coaches some of the most natural role models for young people. Similarly, 80 per cent of Canadians said that sport coaches in local communities can serve as positive role models for boys.
"At Gillette, our mission has always been to provide the men of today and tomorrow with the tools they need to be their best selves," said Jennifer Seiler, Senior Vice President, Grooming Canada at P&G. "Coaches do more than teach skills on the court; they help young people develop confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging, shaping their path both in sports and in life. By supporting Lay-Up’s efforts to develop more coaches, we’re helping to create greater access to positive role models, ensuring that youth have the guidance and inspiration they need to succeed."
Founded in 2014, Lay-Up’s mission is to deliver the benefits of youth-basketball programs in a cost-free, community-based model, ensuring that all children and youth have access to the transformative power of sport. Lay-Up’s programs are delivered year-round in Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, with a focus on fostering long-term relationships between participants and coaches.
"At Lay-Up, we look forward to partnering with Gillette and creating lasting, meaningful change for both youth and coaches," said Chris Penrose, Executive Director, Lay-Up. "With Gillette’s support, we’re not only expanding access to positive role models for the young people we serve, but also creating opportunities for them to stay involved as they enter the next phase of their lives."
GILLETTE IS THE OFFICIAL SHAVE AND BEARD CARE PARTNER OF THE NBA IN CANADA AND THE TORONTO RAPTORS
Gillette continues to highlight role models with its most recent campaign, The Best Your Game Can Get, which celebrates Gillette’s designation as the official shave and beard care partner of the Toronto Raptors.
"The Best Your Game Can Get" lets the younger generation take the lead with GilletteLabs, showing the world that the best a man can get keeps getting better. This message is brought to life with Gillette ambassador and Toronto Raptors player, Gradey Dick, who shares a belief in the power of role models to inspire the next generation of men.
"I’m proud to support Gillette’s partnership with Lay-Up because I know firsthand the difference a strong role model can make in a young person’s life," said Gradey Dick. "Basketball has taught me so much about discipline, confidence, and giving back, and programs like Lay-Up help ensure that boys not only have access to mentors but also learn how to become leaders themselves."
For more than 120 years, Gillette has been committed to helping men look, feel, and be their best. Please visit Gillette.ca for more information about Gillette and its products.
1These are the findings of a study/survey conducted by Gillette Canada from February 5th to February 7th, 2025, among a representative sample of 1501 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About Gillette
For more than 120 years, Gillette has delivered precision technology and unrivaled product performance – improving the lives of over 800 million consumers around the world. From shaving and body grooming to skin care and sweat protection, Gillette offers a wide variety of products including razors, shave gel (gels, foams, and creams), skin care, aftershaves, antiperspirants, deodorants, and body wash. For more information and the latest news on Gillette, visit gillette.ca.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.
About Lay-Up
Lay-Up is a charitable organization focused on the future of access to basketball. Through cost-free year-round basketball programming and paid youth coach development that is rooted in the Culture of Basketball, our programs serve over 800 youth annually across Toronto. For more information, please visit: https://www.layup.ca/
