USTA FOUNDATION RECEIVES $150,000 GRANT FROM US OPEN TELECASTER ESPN

Written by: Staff on 13th September 2015

USTA FOUNDATION RECEIVES $150,000 GRANT FROM US OPEN TELECASTER ESPN

during Day Fourteen of the 2015 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. |

From L to R: Tom Chen, USTA Foundation President; James Blake, Chairman of the USTA Foundation Board; Dan Faber, Executive Director of USTA Foundation (Courtesy USTA)

Grant to Fund the Foundation’s New Capacity Building Program to Support

Seven National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Programs

USTA Foundation, the national charitable organization of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), today announced that it has received a grant in the amount of $150,000 from ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, which has televised the US Open since 2009. ESPN’s grant funding will go to support seven National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network chapters that are amongst the newly established Capacity Building Program.

The new USTA Foundation Capacity Building Program is designed to provide long-term technical assistance for selected NJTL chapters that are committed to achieving significant qualitative and quantitative growth in sustainability, governance, management infrastructure, and ultimately the breadth and the depth of impact on participants. The following NJTL programs will each receive a Capacity Building Program grant on behalf of ESPN:

A’s & Aces, New Orleans

New HYTEs- New Haven Youth Tennis and Education, New Haven, CT

Down the Line and Beyond Foundation, Villanova, PA

Dallas Tennis Association, Dallas

InnerCity Tennis, Minneapolis

Sloane Stephens Foundation, Compton, CA

Youth and Tennis Academy, Jamaica (Queens), NY

Earlier this year, the USTA Foundation established the “Dream Campaign” with a goal to raise $15 million over the next three years to serve thousands of kids and support the capacity building program. With this grant, ESPN is the first corporation to serve on the Foundation’s Dream Campaign as a Foundation Patron.

“The USTA Foundation is honored to work with ESPN to support these deserving NJTL chapters for their commitment to operating high-performing tennis and education programs,” said Dan Faber, USTA Foundation Executive Director. “We are extremely grateful to ESPN for this grant, which will provide the necessary tools for the Capacity Building Program to continue to prosper. This collaboration is evidence that they believe in the lasting impact that tennis and education can have on thousands of youth in local communities around the country.”

“We are proud to join USTA Foundation in this collaboration which further establishes ESPN’s commitment to improving access to sport in underserved communities” said ESPN, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship Kevin Martinez. “Together with the USTA Foundation, we are ensuring that local NJTL chapters have the needed resources to grow their capacity and scale to serve more kids who want to play tennis.”

“As a former NJTL student, many of the important lessons my program taught me were not just on the tennis court, but off,” said James Blake, USTA Foundation Chairman and former world No.4 ranked tennis professional. “Being taught the importance of sportsmanship, developing necessary life skills, while being reminded to never lose sight of the importance of an education, was key to my personal growth as a youth. Those lessons stuck with me throughout my career as a pro player, and I’m glad that ESPN’s generosity to these programs will continue to award opportunities to other NJTL students.”

Topics: Tennis News, US Open tennis, Usta

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10sBalls_com says:

September 13, 2015 at 4:49 pm

-@usta FOUNDATION RECEIVES $150,000 GRANT FROM #USOpen TELECASTER @espn- http://t.co/92KPglFkvA #tennis #USOpen2015