Donate to Youth Tennis Advantage
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Hi, I’m Kenji Rohn, a senior at Berkeley High School and a starter on the boy's varsity tennis team. I’m collecting monetary donations and used tennis rackets to benefit the following three local after-school tennis programs for disadvantaged youth run by Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA), a San Francisco-based nonprofit established in 1968.
- “Bear Trax" brings kids aged 8-17 to UC Berkeley for after-school tutoring with Cal students and tennis instruction from members of the men's and women's teams. It was created by recently retired Cal coach Peter Wright in 2001 and partnered with YTA.
- The second program in Mosswood Park in Oakland provides tennis instruction and academic help.
- The third program in Bay View Hunter's Point in San Francisco focuses exclusively on tennis.
Money raised from this campaign will be used to pay for tennis rackets, balls, grips, and strings, which will be purchased at Plaza Tennis, a long-time family-owned business in Albany 10 minutes from the UC Berkeley campus. Every participant will get to keep their racket.
Why I'm Doing This
I learned about the "Bear Trax"/YTA program and its impact on the community while playing tennis for Berkeley High, and I was inspired to help. This summer, I launched a tennis racket drive to benefit YTA. I spread the word by hand-delivering flyers to roughly 500 houses in my surrounding neighborhood. So far, I've collected more than 60 used rackets (see photo above) from neighbors, as well as members of the Berkeley Tennis Club and Chabot Canyon Racquet Club. My goal is to raise $1,000 to buy more equipment for YTA so many more kids can have the opportunity to play this fun and amazing sport!
Thanks for your donations!
Organizer
Kenji Rohn
Organizer
Berkeley, CA