/24-7PressRelease/ - OAKLAND, CA, July 31, 2008 — Tennis champion Serena Williams was eventually forced to withdraw from this year's Bank of the West Tennis Classic, but Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA), an Oakland non-profit organization committed to helping local, low income 'scholar athletes' meet academic goals and play and compete in the sport of tennis, could not have been happier having her compete the evening of YTA's key fundraising event at the tournament which helped raise more than $296,545 in donations for the organization this July. The Bank of the West Tennis Classic, which partners with YTA to help raise funds for a variety of YTA programs, helped the organization exceed its fundraising goals during the week long tournament held earlier this month. The financial boost will mean added tennis programs at Oakland YTA sites and at the after school tennis program located at UC Berkeley. The donations came about at a several key YTA functions held at Stanford University's Taube Family Tennis Center, the same location of the Bank of the West Tennis Classic tennis matches. The 'Aces for Kids' event, a unique and exuberant fund raiser that entices donors to commit to a donation amount for every ace served, for each match played throughout the entire tournament, earned $145,545. Also, the 'For the Kids' dinner which gave motivated donors an opportunity to participate in a silent an auction, and to bid on various YTA program expansion projects, earned $151,000. In all, $296,545 was raised.
"We always look forward to our week long Bank of West Classic activities, and this year was no exception," said Dr. Ron Grant, president of YTA. "But this year was particularly special from the number of board members who demonstrated their commitment to the objectives of YTA, the rousing financial support and dedication to what we are committed to, and also the fact that most of us were particularly excited that Serena Williams was a part of the tournament really made this an exceptional year for YTA."
One of the first areas YTA will focus its program expansion will be YTA's Bear Trax program, which is located after school, on campus at University of California, Berkeley.
"Our Bear Trax program has developed and grown fairly quickly and we want to accommodate many more kids, but we've needed more money to do this," said YTA Executive Director, Loretta Conway, "The incredible support and funds that were raised, was so very much appreciated, and so very much needed. I know that we can now move forward with our next steps both with Peter Wright, the UCB Men's Tennis Team coach and the other wonderful support we have at the university to make Bear Trax a world-class academic and tennis program atmosphere."
Youth Tennis Advantage is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving youth in Bay Area, low income communities through a comprehensive program of tennis and academic tutoring that promotes the physical, educational, and life skills necessary to prepare and empower them for leadership in their communities, and success in their personal lives.
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