The MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, an official USTA Florida Community Tennis Association nonprofit dedicated to empowering at-risk youth in Jacksonville’s urban core, announced its Fund the Furniture and Stock the Shelves campaign as part of a larger campaign to build a new Teen Center.
The Teen Center will offer age-appropriate services such as academic assistance, college preparation, job and leadership training and recreational activities. The new 12,000-square-foot facility will be located in Emmett Reed Park, adjacent to the current Youth Center, as part of an expanded public/private partnership between the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation and the City of Jacksonville.
The Teen Center will include multiple learning spaces, a game room, and administrative offices with the goal of providing a comfortable area for teenagers to learn new skills, study, work and relax.
“MWYF is expanding to provide both our students and the community at large with a much-needed space that will provide youth with resources they do not currently have access to,” said MaliVai Washington, former Wimbledon finalist and founder of the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation. “We have seen an outpouring of support for our new Teen Center and hope the community will continue to help us reach our goal of creating a facility that will impact Jacksonville’s youth for generations.”
MWYF promotes academic achievement and uses tennis to engage students in an active and fun youth development program. The flagship program, TnT (Tennis-n-Tutoring), is a comprehensive five-day-per-week after-school program that provides daily homework assistance, life skills classes and tennis lessons to Jacksonville’s most underserved youth. The mission of the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation is to develop champions in classrooms, on tennis courts and throughout communities.
Visit malwashington.com/teencenter to learn more and view the Teen Center gift registry.
