Bonita Leung Shares Her Passion with the Love 21 Foundation

Cboe believes in supporting our associates who volunteer their time, energy and expertise to improve their communities and the lives of others. Each year, associates can nominate their peers—those who go above and beyond and exemplify the principle of Good Citizenship—for the Cboe Global Markets Award for Outstanding Community Service. Bonita Leung is a 2023 Outstanding Community Service Award recipient for her work with the Love 21 Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity empowering the Down syndrome and autistic community through sport, nutrition and holistic support programs.

Wading into New Challenges

Based in Hong Kong, Bonita Leung is Group Head of Legal for Cboe in Asia Pacific (APAC), which means she travels extensively throughout the APAC region, specializing in new market growth, business development and strategy, as well as supporting Cboe’s corporate initiatives, public policy efforts and regulatory goals.

Her life outside the office is just as busy.

A former competitive rugby player, Bonita always loved team sports and physical activity. When she moved to Hong Kong about 15 years ago, she tried out dragon boating as a fun social activity.

Dragon boating is a challenging, team-based water sport that uses dragon boats, or large canoe-like vessels, shaped into finely crafted dragon-inspired designs. Crews of 10, 20 or even 50 people sit in pairs and paddle to compete in races over distances from 200 to 2,000 meters.

The sport takes an immense amount of team coordination and precision—every paddler must enter their blades into the water at the exact same time. Even a split-second difference can throw off the timing and make the boat shudder.

“Dragon boating is the most team-centric sport I’ve ever done,” Bonita says. “Every member of the team matters. It builds such humility but also tight-knit friendships.”

It didn’t take long for her competitive spirit to come racing back, and she was encouraged to join the Hong Kong Yacht Club’s dragon boating team, which is comprised of amateur athletes competing at a semi-professional level.

Wiping Out Barriers

In 2021, Bonita connected with the Love 21 Foundation, a local charity centered on sportsmanship that works with kids and adults with Down syndrome and autism, as well as their families. The mission of Love 21 is to empower this underserved community through sports, nutrition and mental health wellbeing. Offering a wide range of sports and activities, Love 21 offers fully accessible programs so all participants can enjoy the benefits of teamwork and physical activity.

The passionate volunteers at Love 21—including many colleagues from the local financial services industry—explained how much their members would love to get out on the water, and Bonita immediately recognized an opportunity to make an incredible impact.

“The goal is to be as inclusive as possible and expand access to dragon boating and team sports without the stigma and shame that unfortunately still affects this community,” Bonita says.

Leveraging her connection with the Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Charity Foundation, which provided an initial grant, Bonita set up a special dragon boat program for Love 21 members. The six-week program pairs members with volunteer buddies and guides participants through a transformative journey on the water.

Some members are initially hesitant about the water, but with the right support and encouragement from specially trained Love 21 volunteers, they can overcome their fears and ultimately fully engage, spend time with their family members and enjoy the friendly competition.

“When we remove the barriers, it’s amazing to see there is so much ability,” Bonita says. 

Now in its third year, this one-of-a-kind dragon boat program concludes with a medal ceremony for participants and plenty of smiling faces from family members and volunteers alike. 

In recognition of Bonita’s Outstanding Community Service Award, Cboe donated $5,000 to the Love Foundation, which will go toward the foundation’s operational expenses and help them provide greater access to sports and support services. 

Whether she’s leading a volunteer program or training with her competitive club team, Bonita spends much of her time on the water. For Love 21 members, volunteers and athletes like Bonita, the comradery of dragon boating is deeply rewarding.