HTA/NJTL Awarded USTA Serves Grant
February 1, 2010 02:40 PM
USTA Serves – Foundation for Academics. Character. Excellence., the philanthropic and charitable entity of the USTA, has announced that under its “Aces for Kids” umbrella, it has awarded 24 year-end grants, for a total of $297,325. Among the organizations honored was the Houston Tennis Association Inc./NJT, with a $20,000 grant. The number of program grants awarded in 2009 was 37, for a total amount of $549,325. Combined with scholarship awards, USTA Serves distributed nearly $1 million in 2009.
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 is a national initiative of USTA Serves. It 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; interact with a mentor and other students; attend college preparatory sessions; and learn to play tennis in a team format.
The Houston Tennis Association (HTA) NJTL has taken a more active role in supporting tennis in and out of schools. A major initiative launched by the USTA and Harris County Department of Education Coalition for After School Enrichment is ensuring that tennis is part of established after-school programs. HTA NJTL also works closely with the USTA/Texas Section to support tennis during physical education classes and after school. The USTA Serves grant will help fund the organization’s “Serving Up a Pathway to Success”, a strategic approach to building an educational pathway to compliment the tennis pathway that will impact at least 325 students.
“These programs are impacting the future of thousands of children, helping them to develop a healthy mentality and vital life skills that they will carry into adulthood,” said Karen Martin-Eliezer, Chief Executive, USTA Serves. “We are grateful for the generous support of the many corporations and individual donors that empower USTA Serves to distribute these life-changing funds.”
The 2009 year-end grants recipients:
1. Abundant Waters, New York, N.Y.
2. A’s & Aces, New Orleans, La.
3. Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
4. CHAMPS Afterschool Enrichment Program, Erie, Pa.
5. City Parks Foundation, New York, N.Y.
6. Earthen Vessels Outreach, Pittsburgh, Pa.
7. Family and Children’s Association, Mineola, N.Y.
8. Hamilton County Community Tennis Association, Indianapolis, Ind.
9. Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program, New York, N.Y.
10. Harper for Kids, San Francisco, Calif.
11. Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Inc., Orlando, Fla.
12. Houston Tennis Association Inc./NJTL, Houston, Texas
13. I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County, Boulder, Colo.
14. Indianola Main Street Association, Indianola, Miss.
15. Mentoring USA Inc., New York, N.Y.
16. Norwalk Grassroots Tennis, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.
17. Ossining Community Tennis Association Inc., Ossining, N.Y.
18. Project Lovematch Inc., Saddle River, N.J.
19. Sportsmen’s Tennis Club Inc., Dorchester, Mass.
20. Tennis in the ‘Hood Inc., Fayetteville, Ga.
21. The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc., Langhorne, Pa.
22. United Neighbors, Inc., Davenport, Iowa
23. University of Akron, Dept. of Sport Science & Wellness, Akron, Ohio
24. University of Hawaii’s Ace to Success, Honolulu, Hawaii
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.