USTA Serves Awards $252,000 in "Aces for Kids" Grants to 13 Organizations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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07/08/09 - White Plains, N.Y.--USTA Serves – Foundation for Academics. Character. Excellence., the philanthropic and charitable entity of the United States Tennis Association, announced today that it has awarded 13 grants in its 2009 spring Aces for Kids funding cycle, totaling $252,000.
USTA Serves awards grants to programs that successfully combine tennis and education and help children pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens.
Aces for Kids, a national initiative of USTA Serves, strives to promote healthy lifestyles by combating childhood/adult obesity by providing disadvantaged, at-risk children the opportunity to learn to play tennis and improve their academic skills in a structured format. At Aces for Kids program sites, children between the ages of 5-18 learn about healthy nutrition and lifestyles, responsible citizenship, study skills, and computer literacy. They are often afforded the opportunity to interact with a mentor and other students, attend college preparatory sessions, and learn to play tennis in a team format.
“The goal of these incredible programs is to help children learn to make healthy lifestyle choices, teach life skills and support and encourage academic success,” said Karen Martin-Eliezer, Chief Executive, USTA Serves. “The collaborative efforts and financial assistance of the USTA and numerous corporations and individual donors has allowed us to allocate funds to these worthwhile, life-changing organizations.”
The following programs were awarded 2009 spring Aces for Kids grants by USTA Serves:
Apple Ridge Farm, Roanoke, Va.
Dallas Tennis Association, Addison, Texas
First Serve New Mexico, Santa Fe, N.M.
Greater Baltimore Tennis Patrons, Baltimore, Md.
Holliday Park Kids, Topeka, Kan.
King Street Youth Center, Burlington, Vt.
NJTL of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Ind.
Net Results Junior Tennis, Denver, Colo.
Special Olympics Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska
University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, Arecibo, P.R.
White Plains Youth Bureau/Memorial Methodist Church, White Plains, N.Y.
Zina Garrison All-Court Tennis Academy, Houston, Texas
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USTA Serves
Established in 1994, USTA Serves supports, monitors and promotes programs that enhance the lives of disadvantaged children through the integration of tennis and education. USTA Serves actively supports individual students from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds through college scholarships and player incentive awards and encourages children to pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens. Additionally, the Foundation supports community tennis programs across the country that provide positive role models, academic assistance, life skills, and tennis instruction to help prevent violence, substance abuse and school dropouts. USTA Serves is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds on the USTA’s social conscience of addressing important health issues, diversity issues, and general well-being in the United States using tennis as the catalyst and change agent.
The USTA
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with 730,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
For more information, contact:
Doug Drotman
631-462-1198 doug@drotmanpr.com
Tom LaDue, Manager, Communications, USTA
(914) 697-2352; ladue@usta.com
