Grassroots Tennis Tourney, January 12

DANBURY — Grassroots Tennis will kick off 2008 with its first fundraiser of the year at Sport and Wellness, 17 Starr Road (formerly Beaver Brook Tennis Club), on Saturday, January 12. The tournament will run from 6 to 10 pm.

The event will be in the format of a tennis tournament featuring men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, with the accent on social integration, although there will be a prize for the winning man and woman. A “mystery auction” will be held with participants bidding on box numbers not knowing the valuable contents. T-shirts will be on sale along with a book on tennis experiences authored by Eastern Hall of Famer and local professional Alex Aitchison.

A free gift will be given to each player on arrival.

The donation/entry fee of $50 per person is fully deductible for taxation purposes as the entire fee goes to the organization’s programs. Entries may be limited. For information or to enter, contact Jerry Sulli at 203-843-0128 or Alex Aitchison at 270-8218.

Danbury Grassroots Tennis is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Inner City Junior Tennis Program founded in 2006 by a group of Danbury area tennis players in cooperation with Danbury Housing Authority and the United States Tennis Association. The group sponsors economically disadvantaged youth in the Danbury area and its environs with free tennis lessons focusing on achieving excellence in health, education, and personal well-being, using tennis as the vehicle. Working with the Danbury Housing Authority, Danbury Parks and Recreation Department, Danbury School System and local clubs and organizations, Danbury Grassroots Tennis offers youngsters a meaningful alternative to after school routines of sedentary or gang activities by promoting the development of self-confidence, self-control, self-respect, and courtesy.