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Community Corner

USTA SERVES AWARDS $5,000 GRANT TO FRIENDS OF OAKLAND PARKS AND RECREATION

USTA Serves, the national charitable foundation of the United States Tennis Association, announced it has awarded the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation a $5,000 grant. During its 2014 spring funding cycle, USTA Serves awarded 46 community tennis and education organizations more than $429,000 in grants.

 

Oakland Parks and Recreation (OPR) is currently piloting USTA Northern California’s new H.I.T.S. program (honesty, inspiration, teamwork and sportsmanship) at three of its centers. H.I.T.S. is a life skills enrichment curriculum that helps to develop a child's core values with on-court and off-court activities. The grant funds will allow OPR to offer the H.I.T.S. program at eight additional centers for the upcoming school year and will introduce tennis to more than 160 underserved youth by providing a total of 24 weeks of tennis. In addition, funding will also be used to provide additional scholarships to promising athletes who demonstrate good citizenship so they can continue to pursue their tennis aspirations as part of the tournament training program at Davie Tennis Stadium.

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"We are proud to continue to honor some of our nation’s most successful and thriving tennis and education programs, who devote their missions toward servicing others, especially our under-served youth,” said Dan Faber, USTA Serves Executive Director. “We hope they’re able to use these grants to continue their outstanding work, and as they keep education, health and tennis in the forefront, I look forward to the impact they will have in fostering future leaders and champions.” 

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The bi-annual grant process, a national initiative of USTA Serves, was established to award organizations that 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 $13 million to a variety of programs that support its mission.


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