Tennis Atlantic

USTA SERVES AWARDS $27,500 TO

WASHINGTON D.C.-AREA TENNIS PROGRAMS 

Recreation Wish List Committee Granted $12,500 and

Washington Tennis & Education Foundation Granted $15,000

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 6, 2012 – USTA Serves, the National Charitable Foundation of the United States Tennis Association, today announced it has awarded grants to two Washington D.C.-area programs, the Recreation Wish List Committee received $12,500 and the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation received $15,000.  During its 2012 spring funding cycle, USTA Serves awarded 44 community tennis and education organizations more than $400,000 in grants.

The Recreation Wish List Committee (RWLC) started in 1995 and has worked to support and create a safe environment for the District of Columbia’s youth to grow and play. The Recreation Wish List Committee’s mission is to provide out-of-school education, enrichment, fitness and tennis programs at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center.  The center serves approximately 400 youths each year. 

“We are thrilled to have been awarded this grant from USTA,” said Cora Masters Barry, President and CEO of the Recreation Wish List Committee.  “We continue to see great growth and success in our Tennis Scholars and are honored to be recognized for our work.”

Funding will support the Summer SETUP program, a six-week academic and tennis program for second through fifth graders, and its after-school academic, cultural enrichment, fitness and tennis programs the remainder of the year.

The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) was founded in 1955 as an organization designed to help disadvantaged youth through tennis. Since then, it has evolved into an organization that provides academic help to at-risk children by helping them to apply the lessons learned on the tennis court and in the classroom.

Eleni Rossides, Executive Director, Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, said her organization was thrilled to receive a grant from USTA Serves. “For our children it means their dreams are possible,” said Rossides. “WTEF offers high-quality tennis and education programs that bring new hope for better futures. This stamp of approval from USTA is a critical part of our resume when we seek funding from other sources as well.”

The USTA Serves grant given to WTEF will impact three main programs including the Arthur Ashe Children’s Program (AACP), the Center for Excellence (CFE) and WTEF’s Tennis Center Programs. Together these programs serve nearly 1,500 children each year, ages 6-18, with a focus on tennis, academics and life skills instruction.

“USTA Serves is proud to continue to provide financial resources to organizations impacting the future of thousands of children throughout the nation, helping them to develop life skills through tennis and education,” says Deborah Slaner Larkin, Executive Director, USTA Serves. “It is our hope and belief that these young men and women will continue to positively impact their communities and beyond.” 

The bi-annual grant process, a national initiative of USTA Serves, was developed to provide disadvantaged, at-risk children the opportunity to learn to play tennis and improve their academic skills in a structured format, and to help combat childhood obesity by promoting healthy lifestyles. Chosen by a Grant Proposal Review Committee comprised of Foundation board members and USTA national staff, with important input from USTA sections, the grants are awarded to programs that successfully combine tennis and education and help children pursue their goals and highest dreams by leading healthier lives, succeeding in school and becoming healthier citizens. To date, USTA Serves has disbursed $11 million to a variety of programs that support its mission.

–S. Pratt