Florida Resident Kevin Anderson and First Serve Recipients of ATP ACES for Charity Grant

South African tennis pro and Florida resident Kevin Anderson and the First Serve after-school program joined the Australian Red Cross, the Rafa Nadal Foundation and the Novak Djokovic Foundation among recipients selected for the 2020 ATP ACES for Charity grants.

In all grants for $15,000 each were awarded to nine charitable causes, nominated by ATP World Tour players, tournaments and alumni.

First Serve is a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) program and an official USTA Florida Community Tennis Association (CTA).

This year’s grant recipients aim to make a difference to the lives of many through their work in disaster relief, childhood development and education. The grant awarded to Tennis Australia is directly supporting the Australian Red Cross in order to help those who have been affected by the devastating bushfires in Australia.

Anderson is the ambassador for First Serve, the after-school program headquartered in South Florida serving children from impoverished and high-crime areas, with the goal of engaging, educating and empowering students and helping develop them into leaders in their communities. First Serve, which was founded in 1993, hires, equips and trains high school students to mentor children in their own community.

The ATP ACES For Charity grant will be used to contribute to the purchase of a van to pick up students from their schools and drop them off at home after the program and to provide transportation for field trips and summer camp. The grant will also be put towards the hiring of 12 additional mentors for First Serve’s largest after-school program in Belle Glade, Fla.

Anderson also received the ATP’s 2019 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6RFk6aA8WA/

The ATP ACES For Charity program, which launched in 2011, is a global initiative aimed at giving back to communities where ATP Tour events are played, as well as recognizing and supporting tournament, player and alumni charitable initiatives. Since 2011, the grant program has awarded 94 grants totaling more than $1.2 million in donations.

For additional info go to www.atptour.com.