{"id":209316,"date":"2026-05-07T14:18:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T12:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=209316"},"modified":"2026-05-07T14:20:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T12:20:41","slug":"big-heart-of-the-serbian-coach-darko-rajakovic-donated-nearly-80000-dollars-to-childrens-hospitals-including-tirsova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/big-heart-of-the-serbian-coach-darko-rajakovic-donated-nearly-80000-dollars-to-childrens-hospitals-including-tirsova\/","title":{"rendered":"BIG HEART OF THE SERBIAN COACH: Darko Rajakovi\u0107 donated nearly 80,000 dollars to children&#8217;s hospitals, including Tir\u0161ova!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>The head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Serbian expert Darko Rajakovi\u0107, together with his family, has continued a praiseworthy humanitarian action, donating significant funds to children&#8217;s hospitals in Canada, the United States, and Serbia.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the end of the NBA season, the Rajakovi\u0107 family donated a total of 79,761 dollars, marking the completion of the third consecutive year of their &#8220;Assists for a Smile&#8221; initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The entire amount was collected based on the performance of the Toronto basketball players, as 33 dollars were set aside for each of the team&#8217;s 2,417 assists. Those 2,417 plays are a franchise record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The money will, as in previous years, be evenly distributed among three institutions that hold special significance for the life and career of the Serbian coach: &#8220;SickKids&#8221; Children&#8217;s Hospital in Toronto, &#8220;St. Jude&#8221; Children&#8217;s Research Hospital in Memphis, where Rajakovi\u0107 worked as an assistant coach, and the &#8220;Tir\u0161ova&#8221; University Children&#8217;s Clinic in Belgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Darko Rajakovic and his family has donated US$79,761 across SickKids Hospital in Toronto, St. Jude Children&#39;s Research Hospital in Memphis, and the University Children&#39;s Hospital in Belgrade.<br><br>Raptors had 2,417 assists this season, Rajakovic had committed to US$33\/assist.<\/p>&mdash; Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vivekmjacob\/status\/2051694279739769009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>This action has become a tradition since Rajakovi\u0107 took over the Raptors. The initiative began more modestly, with 20 dollars per assist in the first season (2023\/24). The following season, on the occasion of the club&#8217;s 30th anniversary, the stake was increased to 30 dollars, while in the recently completed season, it reached 33 dollars per successful pass for a teammate&#8217;s points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the excellent team play of the Raptors, who were regularly at the top of the NBA league in terms of the number of assists, the total amount of donations over three seasons reached an impressive 196,661 dollars. So far, there is no information that other donors have joined this specific action organized exclusively by the Rajakovi\u0107 family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Knowing that we made a small difference for families going through a difficult period gives us the confidence to continue with our support,&#8221; Rajakovi\u0107 stated in a press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Serbian coach, who has a son with his wife Gaga, pointed out that parenthood gives him additional motivation for this action and praised the work of the medical staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Those hospitals around the world that work with children and families, &#8216;SickKids&#8217; here in Toronto, &#8216;St. Jude&#8217; in Memphis, and the &#8216;Tir\u0161ova&#8217; Children&#8217;s Clinic in Serbia, do an outstanding job. When you have the opportunity to talk to the employees in those hospitals, you realize how dedicated they are and how much they want to help children. Once again, thanks to the hardworking medical staff who have dedicated their lives to improving children&#8217;s health,&#8221; Rajakovi\u0107 added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/serbian-woman-shines-in-america-dunja-broke-her-personal-record-twice-in-arizona-winning-silver-and-bronze\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">SERBIAN WOMAN SHINES IN AMERICA: Dunja broke her personal record twice in Arizona, winning silver and bronze!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/bosnia-prepares-for-voting-the-central-election-commission-of-bih-has-announced-general-elections-for-october\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BOSNIA PREPARES FOR VOTING: The Central Election Commission of BiH has announced general elections for October!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/the-karadordevics-marked-st-georges-day-at-oplenac-prince-filip-faith-sacrifice-and-perseverance-are-the-foundations-on-which-the-people-and-the-state-are-built\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THE KARA\u0110OR\u0110EVI\u0106S MARKED ST. GEORGE\u2019S DAY AT OPLENAC Prince Filip: Faith, sacrifice, and perseverance are the foundations on which the people and the state are built!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/the-belt-of-the-most-holy-mother-of-god-arrives-in-belgrade-believers-will-be-able-to-bow-to-the-great-holy-relic-for-ascension-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THE BELT OF THE MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD ARRIVES IN BELGRADE: Believers will be able to bow to the great holy relic for Ascension Day!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/management-extremely-satisfied-with-the-serb-the-toronto-raptors-plan-a-contract-extension-with-darko-rajakovic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">MANAGEMENT \u201eEXTREMELY SATISFIED\u201c WITH THE SERB: The Toronto Raptors plan a contract extension with Darko Rajakovi\u0107!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/brave-decisions-and-a-change-in-behavior-are-necessary-aleksandar-vucic-presented-a-five-point-plan-for-serbia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">\u201eBRAVE DECISIONS AND A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR ARE NECESSARY\u201c: Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 presented a five-point plan for Serbia!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rts.rs\/lat\/sport\/kosarka\/nba\/5943070\/darko-rajakovic-humanitarna-deca-bolnica-tirsova-toronto.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">RTS<\/a>, <strong>Foto:<\/strong> AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Serbian expert Darko Rajakovi\u0107, together with his family, has continued a praiseworthy humanitarian action, donating significant funds to children&#8217;s hospitals in Canada, the United States, and Serbia. Following the end of the NBA season, the Rajakovi\u0107 family donated a total of 79,761 dollars, marking the completion of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":209317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[71,1488,12560,398,249,190,91,113,12561,11075],"class_list":["post-209316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-amerika","tag-darko-rajakovic","tag-decje-bolnice","tag-humanost","tag-kosarka-2","tag-nba","tag-sport","tag-srbija","tag-tirsova","tag-toronto-reptors","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209316"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209370,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209316\/revisions\/209370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}