USTA Serves, the national charitable foundation of the United States Tennis Association, has awarded more than $324,000 in grants to 38 community tennis and education organizations during its 2013 spring funding cycle.

The grant recipients were chosen by a Grant Proposal Review Committee comprised of USTA Serves board members and USTA national staff, with important input from the 17 USTA sections. The grants were awarded to programs that successfully combine tennis and education and help children pursue their goals and dreams by leading healthier lives, succeeding in school and becoming healthier citizens. 
 
"USTA Serves is delighted to award these deserving tennis programs for their commitment to positively enriching the lives of the youth in their communities through tennis and education," said Dan Faber, USTA Serves Executive Director. "Education is key to fostering growth and success in life, while a healthy lifestyle is a key ingredient to longevity. And with these programs providing the necessary tools and tennis lessons for youth all over the country to achieve that notion, I’m glad that we are able to honor them as they work to positively impact this and other generations to come."
 
The biannual grant process is a national initiative of USTA Serves that was established to award organizations that provide disadvantaged, at-risk children with the opportunity to learn to play tennis and improve their academic skills in a structured format. These programs also strive to help combat childhood obesity by promoting healthy lifestyles.

To date, USTA Serves has awarded more than $11 million to a variety of programs that support its mission.
 
The following programs were awarded 2013 year-end grants by USTA Serves:
 
1.    An Achievable Dream, Inc. – Newport News, Va.
2.    Apple Ridge Farm – Roanoke, Va.
3.    Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education, Inc. – Philadelphia
4.    A’s & Aces, Inc. – New Orleans
5.    Atlanta Youth Tennis & Education Foundation – Atlanta
6.    Birmingham Area Tennis Association Inc. – Birmingham, Ala.
7.    Bob Pass Tennis & Education Foundation – Merrifield, Va.  
8.    Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia – Charlottesville, Va.
9.    Capital Region Youth Tennis Foundation Inc. – Albany, N.Y.
10.  Challenge Alaska – Anchorage, Alaska
11.  Community Partners/DhhEAF – Los Angeles
12.  Danbury Grassroots Tennis & Enrichment Program – Danbury, Conn.
13.  FAST-D, Inc. – Bloomfield Hills, Mich.          
14.  First Serve New Mexico – Santa Fe, N.M.
15.  Freeman Junior Development Program – Dallas
16.  Greater Baltimore Tennis Patrons Association – Baltimore
17.  Greater Lakes Adaptive Sports Association – Lake Forest, Ill.
18.  Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program Inc. – New York
19.  Inner City Tennis Clinics Inc. – Painesville, Ohio
20.  Jewish Council for Youth Services – Chicago          
21.  King Street Center – Burlington, Vt.
22.  MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation – Jacksonville, Fla.
23.  Milwaukee Tennis and Education Foundation – Milwaukee
24.  NJTL of Indianapolis – Indianapolis
25.  Norwalk Grassroots Tennis – Norwalk, Conn.          
26.  Ojai Valley Tennis Club, Inc. – Ojai, Calif.
27.  Richmond Tennis Association – Richmond, Va.
28.  Slippery Rock University Foundation – Slippery Rock, Pa.
29.  Southern Crescent Youth Tennis & Education Foundation – Peachtree City, Ga.
30.  Special Olympics District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. – Washignton, D.C.
31.  Stephanie Waterman Foundation – Lenexa, Kan.
32.  Tenacity, Inc. – Boston          
33.  Tennis Memphis, Inc. – Memphis, Tenn.
34.  The Mayors Fund to Advance New York City – New York
35.  United Neighbors, Inc. – Davenport, Iowa
36.  USTA National Junior Tennis League of Trenton – Trenton, N.J.     
37.  Washington Tennis & Education Foundation – Washington, D.C.
38.  Youth At Heart – Tulsa, Okla.