Marcy Tennis Club Needs Your Help!

Michael McCasland (center-left) kicks off another Saturday with the kids and instructors of the Marcy Tennis Club.

The Marcy Tennis Club is a free youth tennis club at Marcy Projects. Michael McCasland began the program last march with one student and only a couple rackets and balls, and now he’s been joined by over 6 instructors and over 15 kids every Saturday from 1 – 3.

They’ve already received equipment donations from the United States Tennis Association and Prince Sporting Goods. Thanks to their support the program now has over 20 rackets, 100 balls, and 4 mobile tennis nets. I’ve been out to see them in action and it really is great to see the youngsters learning what is (in my opinion) the greatest sport on the planet.

As you can guess, it takes a lot to keep an athletic program like this going, so they’ve got a couple of fundraising projects in the works that could really use your help. The first requires immediate action on your part, but don’t worry, it’s quick and painless!

Marcy Tennis Club has applied for a Pepsi grant that will help them purchase additional equipment. They have more kids than rackets these days, so the additional funding from Pepsi will allow them to purchase more rackets, balls, athletic wear, and mobile nets to setup on the adjacent handball courts. To get this funding, Marcy Tennis Club needs votes. They are currently ranked 76th in the voting competition. Not bad, but Pepsi will only be funding the top 10 ideas, so please help Marcy Tennis Club get into the top 10! I’m positive if everyone reading this voted everyday between now and August 31st, they’ll win! You can vote by texting 101156 to Pepsi (73774) and you can vote by visiting the Pepsi grant vote page:

http://www.refresheverything.com/marcytennis

You can vote TWICE PER DAY (once via text and once via the contest page), so vote early and often! (If you forget to bookmark the contest page, we’ve provided easy access to the contest page in the upper right hand corner of the Bed-Stuy Blog’s main page)

The second fundraiser for Marcy Tennis Club is taking place on August 20th. The fundraiser will help with athletic clothing, trophies and an end of the season BBQ. The club is also planning to attend Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the USTA Tennis Center which takes place the day before the U.S. Open gets underway.

For location, time and other details, and to RSVP visit their event page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=130931766945739

Here’s the Marcy Tennis Club’s Facebook page for more information about the program:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Marcy-Tennis-Club/115791298470875

I’ve voted already today, so now it’s time for you to do the same. Let’s help them get the votes to continue this program!