My name is Andy Mizell, and for the last 6 years, I have been introducing tennis to inner-city, public-school students in a free after-school program in Nashville, Tennessee, where we operate solely off of donations and volunteers. The students have absolutely fallen in love with tennis.

 

Our kids have carried flags in the United States Davis Cup match at Belmont University, they've been able to watch Division 1 college tennis matches, and they've played at Lipscomb University and Cane Ridge Park.

 

However, there is just one thing...all of these experiences are the closest these kids will ever get to the tennis world because the only place they ever get to play is in our school's bus lane. They set up their own nets, draw boundary lines with chalk, and still always ask, "Tennis this week? Tennis tomorrow? Tennis today?"

 

They have a love for tennis just like you, but we have an obstacle in our way. I want to create equal opportunity for our students, but I can’t do it alone. We are trying to raise $725,000-$850,000 to build real tennis courts and sustain our programming, and we need your support. Please help us show that tennis really does love all. The official plans have already been created and approved, and all we need now is your help to make this project come to life.

 

All tax-deductible donations will be made to USTA Tennessee's ACE Foundation (Achieving Community Excellence in Tennis) to help support this project. If you prefer to write a check, you can mail it to the following address and specifically state that it is for "The Bus Lane Kids."