This month AIM, Inc. highlights the great work of South Side Junior Tennis, a division of Friends of Chicago International Charter School Tennis, a non-profit organization focusing on exposing children to the sport of tennis.
Friends of CICS Tennis (FCT) was founded in 2006 to offer high quality tennis instruction to students attending the Chicago International Charter Schools. Because of FCT’s successful outcomes, South Side Junior Tennis (SSJT) was started on the premise that tennis instruction should be accessible to all, regardless of income. SSJT exposes students to the life-long benefits of tennis through professional instruction, mentoring and regular play.
SSJT began delivering summer tennis instruction to families on the south side of Chicago in 2011.
One hundred sixty children, ages 5 – 13, participated in the inaugural year of camp. In 2012, SSJT added more sessions and over 260 kids learned the fundamentals of tennis. The performance of six students was so outstanding that they were selected to experience an intense United States Tennis Association (USTA) Junior Excellence Camp. These kids had no previous involvement with tennis prior to the SSJT camp.
SSJT is nimble and responsive to the community’s needs. Once SSJT learned that parents were interested in learning tennis, adult cardio tennis was introduced. Fall and winter sessions were recently added, providing kids with year-round opportunities to learn the sport and advance their tennis skills.
It’s not too late to register for the upcoming winter session, which begins February 16, 2013.
For more information on Friends of CICS Tennis and South Side Junior Tennis programs, volunteer opportunities and ways to make a donation, go tohttp://southsidejuniortennis.org/. You can also follow South Side Junior Tennis on Facebook.
Philanthropic Finesse 