Quincy resident honored by Boston Celtics for charity basketball tournaments

Alexandra Weliever, The Patriot Ledger
·3 min read

Name: Harold Mortel

Age: 46

Hometown: Quincy, Massachusetts

In the news: Mortel was honored with the Boston Celtics "Hero Among Us" award for the charitable basketball tournaments he's been hosting for five years.

Now you know: Mortel also helps others off the court. His full-time job is at a Massachusetts General Hospital cancer center.

His story: The Quincy resident was already raising money for charity before the pandemic hit, so when COVID-19 exacerbated financial woes, it was easy to pivot toward new needs.

Mortel has been organizing basketball tournaments on the East Coast for a little more than five years, he said in a recent interview.

Harold Mortel, of Quincy, is honored during a Boston Celtics game in November.
Harold Mortel, of Quincy, is honored during a Boston Celtics game in November.

Mortel moved from the Philippines when he was 10, and said he hasn't forgotten his family and the community in Balayan, a town in the Batangas region. The money he raises goes to people there and is distributed by his family for rice, canned goods and other needs exacerbated by the pandemic.

The money has helped more than 700 families, Mortel said.

Harold Mortel, of Quincy, had courtside seats during the Boston Celtics game against the Houston Rockets last year.
Harold Mortel, of Quincy, had courtside seats during the Boston Celtics game against the Houston Rockets last year.

"I try to get the stuff that they need just so they can survive," he said.

The Philippines has recorded more than 3 million cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. More than 50,000 people have died.

Residents in the Philippines receive rice donations as part of Harold Mortel's fundraising initiatives.
Residents in the Philippines receive rice donations as part of Harold Mortel's fundraising initiatives.

How it started

The idea for basketball tournaments sprung from Mortel's love for the sport. He also organizes table tennis tournaments.

After moving to Quincy's Germantown, he played basketball and made the varsity team at Quincy High School.

Friends from other states helped him organize tournaments up and down the coast, including in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York and New Jersey.

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Mortel has also organized toy drives and collects other donations from residents for the Philippines. A Christmas toy drive helped raised $1,000 for children's gifts, he said.

More recently, Mortel said he received 20 tablets donated for students in the Philippines so they can continue remote learning during the pandemic.

After years of fundraising, the Quincy resident was recognized at a November Boston Celtics game as a "Hero Among Us," an award given to people who contribute to their communities.

"That experience was just amazing," he said. He got to watch the Celtics beat the Houston Rockets 108-90 from courtside seats.

Mortel said the next tournament for charity will be March 26 at the Starland Sports Complex, 637 Washington St., Hanover. For more information, call Mortel at 857-499-4650.

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Reach Alex Weliever at aweliever@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy man uses basketball tournaments to fundraise for Philippines