Colleen Ferrell

Mountain View Sports & Racquet Club (MVSRC) received one of the two grants awarded by the NWTO this past year. According to Frances Simpson Lang, Chairwoman and current Board Director, “The Club is extremely grateful for the support of the NWTO. Your commitment to helping us expand our mission so that we can continue to offer free and low-cost tennis instruction to junior tennis players is so appreciated in underserved communities.” The funds will be used in two ways: the Mental Health and Wellness Program and the Virginia Glass Scholarship.

MVSRC is committed to improving the mental health crisis with a focus on youth. It has been proven that playing tennis improves school performance and kids are less likely to develop depression. Studies have shown that physical activity is a mild medication for moderate anxiety and depression. Educating children on health and wellness is important and the earlier these educators stress the importance of healthy habits, the more it will be ingrained and implemented into their lifestyles as they grow older. The Mental Health and Wellness Program at Mountain View has proven to be valuable and successful in the community.

MVSRC started the Virginia Glass Scholarship Fund in 2010. Since then, more than 100 youth scholarships totaling 113k have been provided. “We are proud of the students that have used MVSRC as a pathway to succeed in life”, said Lang. The program is designed to teach players the importance of community service and encourage youth to use their tennis ability to secure a college education. This San Diego based program is named after tennis pioneer, mentor, and advocate for minority groups - Virginia Glass – who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of many underserved players. Known as the “Matriarch of San Diego Tennis”, she co-founded the Mountain View Sports & Racquet Club in 1969. She was also inducted into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 1991 made history by becoming the first female President of the American Tennis Association.

“This grant from the NWTO represents an investment in our community programs and projects. This will enable us to effectively serve our economically disadvantaged youth and continue the legacy to foster the physical and social development of junior tennis players,” according to Lang. Congratulations Mountain View Sports and Racquet Club on receiving this funding to continue your valued programs.

*The Philanthropy Committee of the NWTO was established to create and administer a charitable initiative. Newly established in 2020, the Committee developed a grant program for not-for-profit entities that could provide programming specifically geared to the mission of the NWTO. In 2022, two grants, each up to $2,500, were available to eligible organizations intending to initiate, expand, or enhance existing tennis instructional programs. The intentional focus of the grants is to work with programs that help girls or women. These grants can be used to develop or implement programs, secure external expertise, equipment, or curriculum materials, support internal staff training, or run a community service event aimed at enhancing participants’ tennis, fitness, sportsmanship, life skills, and leadership skills and/or otherwise to expand tennis programming consistent with NWTO’s charitable mission.