Murr Center serves up Tenacity

Harvard’s Murr Center recently played host to the first-ever pro-am and clinic to benefit Tenacity, Boston’s leading inner city, youth tennis, and literacy program. NBC-TV sports commentator and Boston Globe writer Bud Collins hosted the April 30 event, imparting his tennis wisdom with the help of several Harvard tennis players.

The event drew a host of area business and sports leaders, including Tom Stemberg, founder of Staples; Garin Veris, former New England Patriot and director of recreation for Mayor Thomas Menino; and a dozen champs from the Women’s Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals. The pro-am and clinic were sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and supported by the Colonnade Hotel and Harvard University.

The afternoon paired corporate sponsors with past champions to help build awareness of Tenacity and garner support for the spring 2006 kickoff of the organization’s long-term capacity-building plan called “Rallying to Serve.” Tenacity aims to provide Boston’s children access to tennis via both after-school and summer programs.

Started six years ago, Tenacity now serves more than 3,000 young people annually (between the ages of 7 and 15), and is Boston’s primary partner in providing tennis, literacy, and life skills programming at more than 25 public tennis facilities. To learn more, visit http://www.tenacity.org.