"Please join our efforts to let the children in Sichuan have a better future!" implored Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming in Chicago's Chinatown on Thursday night.

Standing truly tall with his head almost touching the ceiling, the 7-foot-6-inch Yao, now playing for Houston Rockets in the NBA, rallied an excited crowd of over 100 people at Lao Beijing Restaurant, where the Yao Ming Foundation held a successful fund- raising event to help those affected by the devastating earthquake last year in Sichuan, southwest China.

Over 50,000 U.S. dollars were raised on the spot, and more is expected, as the word is spread by the media and passionate attendees. All proceeds will support the Yao Ming Foundation's rebuilding efforts in Sichuan, which was hit by a magnitude-8.0 tremor on May 12, 2008.

Some 80,000 people died and more than 8,000 school rooms were destroyed in the disaster.

"It is very hard for me to put into words how difficult it is to see this kind of destruction," Yao told Xinhua at a press conference right before the fund-raising event. "When I was visiting Sichuan last September, I felt that the children are very brave and courageous to deal with such a disaster. We human beings are really tiny in front of the earthquake. We indeed have lots of work to do over there!"

As one of the most recognizable sports superstars in the world, Yao has been a great pride of Chinese, as evidenced by his bevy of fans. The second floor of the Lao Beijing restaurant was packed with people from Chicago and other states, who were eager to meet Yao, take pictures with him and donate to his foundation.

After shaking hands and saying hello to Yao, a beaming 79-year- old gray-haired donor named Meiyu Xie told Xinhua: "I am so happy that I can help children in Sichuan through the Yao Ming Foundation. I am a big fan of Yao Ming and I can trust his foundation whole-heartedly!"

Talking about how the Yao Ming Foundation was started, Yao said: "I have been working with China Youth Development Foundation for a long time to help young people in China. But I don't have a lot of time to do it myself."

"So it is good timing to start the foundation right after the earthquake. We are currently very focused on rebuilding schools in Sichuan and will possibly expand to support other youth programs in China and the U.S. in the future," he noted.

Stephanie Sandler, Senior Vice President at the Giving Back Fund, has been instrumental in organizing the Chicago fund-raising event. She told Xinhua: "we have been trying to work with Yao Ming since his rookie years. We knew back then what a great person he is and he always wants to give back. Right after the earthquake, we got a call from his agent that now is the time to start."

As a result, the Yao Ming Foundation, under the auspices of the Giving Back Fund, was established in June 2008 in response to the devastating earthquake in China. The foundation will help raise funds and awareness of children's wellness and welfare issues in China and the United States.

Sandler disclosed that, within less than a year, the foundation has raised nearly 3 million U.S. dollars in the United States, including a 2-million-dollar initial, personal contribution from Yao Ming himself.