LTA help serve up an ace summer for StreetGames
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This summer marked a successful start for our new charity partnership with StreetGames, with over £70,000 raised for disadvantaged young people throughout the country.
Our Fever-Tree Championships in London provided the platform for the launch of the partnership, with ourselves and Official Partner BNP Paribas coming together to raise funds and provide StreetGames and its participants with an absolutely unforgettable experience.
Proceeds from ticket resales and match-used tennis ball sales at the star-studded tennis event were donated to the charity, raising over £13,000. StreetGames’ branding and information about the charity was also on display at The Queen’s Club throughout the week, raising the organisation’s profile amongst tennis fans.
In support of the new partnership, BNP Paribas selected StreetGames as the beneficiary of their ‘Aces from the Heart’ campaign, pledging to donate £50 for every ace served on centre court during the tournament. This alone raised £17,650, which the global bank then matched and rounded up to a staggering £40,000. A further £15,000 was then secured from the Childhood Trust as part of the Big Give’s ‘Summer Give’ campaign.
The week-long festivities culminated at the Saturday of the tournament with the arrival of 50 young people from towns and cities across the country. Invited as special guests of BNP Paribas, the young attendees were all treated to centre court tickets, a tennis lesson with LTA coaches and former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philipoussis, and access to BNP Paribas’ VIP hospitality suite! The following day, StreetGames’ ‘Young Volunteer of the year’ nominee Kevin Jacob from Southwark performed the coin toss on court ahead of the singles final between Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Simon – a once in a lifetime moment that was broadcast live on BBC One.
In addition to the money raised at the Fever-Tree Championships, we also donated a further £3,000 raised from the annual LTA Ball held during Wimbledon, taking the overall fundraising total for the summer to over £70,000.
Who said what?
StreetGames’ Head of Corporate Fundraising Mandy West was thrilled with the start of the partnership, saying: “Having a presence at any major sporting event is great, but this experience really has been so incredibly beneficial, not only for StreetGames, but for the many disadvantaged young people that we serve. That includes the 50 young attendees who joined us at the event on Saturday - many of whom have never before left their home towns!
The money raised here this week will have an enormous positive impact all over the country: supporting various initiatives including our own Fit and Fed programme in London, which provides children at risk of holiday hunger, isolation and inactivity with access to free activities and nutritious food during the school holidays”.
For all of this, and more, we owe a massive StreetGames thank you to our partners at the LTA and the amazing support of BNP Paribas. Thank you!”
Stephen Farrow, Tournament Director of the Fever-Tree Championships and the LTA's Director of International Events and Professional Game, said: “We’re really pleased to have got our new charity partnership with StreetGames off to such a fantastic start this summer. They are a brilliant charity and their work to use sport to positively impact the lives of disadvantaged young people is something we are proud to support.
“We’d like to say a huge thanks to BNP Paribas for their outstanding support of the partnership – not only their contribution to our fundraising but also for enabling such a special and memorable experience for the young StreetGames participants who attended the Fever-Tree Championships.”
