Good Sports, Great Stories

USTA Serves up Charity Event to Kickoff 2011 U.S. Open

As a sure sign that summer is on the way out, the U.S. Open officially gets underway next week.  This year's tournament will once again direct the eyes of the sports world - and the feet of over a half million tennis fans - in the direction of the Big Apple (Queens to be exact).  

The Open's kickoff also offers as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the U.S. Tennis Association's charitable arm, USTA Serves.  For the 11th consecutive year, USTA Serves will host an opening night gala that serves as the organization's chief fundraising event.  

This year's gala is scheduled for Monday, August 29th and will feature a celebrity auction with Alec Baldwin and Tony Bennett among the dignitaries on hand.  The event is set to raise over $400,000 towards funding college scholarships and program grants for community-based tennis and education programs across the country.  

To date, USTA Serves has awarded north of $14 million to grassroots tennis and education programs that benefit at-risk kids and those with special needs.  Additionally, the outfit has logged more than 18 million hours of tutoring, mentoring, and nutrition guidance to almost a quarter of a million young people.  Those are some pretty impressive numbers.  

To learn more about USTA Serves' opening night gala at the Open and how to attend and/or contribute, please click here.  

- DH

Baseball Great Tommy John & Team Taylor to Participate in Charity Walk

His name is synonymous with the then-pioneering reconstructive elbow surgery he endured over 35 years ago.  The procedure (known as ulnar collateral ligament construction) is commonplace in baseball today, but that wasn't the case when Tommy John went under the scalpel in the mid-70s.   

In the modern era, the term 'Tommy John surgery' is a ubiquitous part of the game's lexicon.  And while it's fitting that the procedure should bear his name, it's unfortunate that it too often overshadows his career on the diamond.  

For the record, Tommy John pitched for an amazing 26 seasons in the big leagues - three of those yielded 20 wins or more.  He left the game with 288 wins in total.  That's more than any other pitcher currently eligible but not inducted in baseball's Hall of Fame.  The fact that his bust is not in Cooperstown is puzzling. But that's a column for another day.  Suffice it to say, Tommy John knew how to pitch and win.  

Sadly, tragedy struck the baseball legend and his family last spring when his 28-year-old son, Taylor John, passed away due to an overdose of prescription drugs.  Just a few months later, Tommy helped put together a team to participate in a walking event to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Taylor's hometown of Chicago.  Team Taylor, as it was dubbed, was the top fundraising group at the 2010 Chicago walk.  

This year, Tommy and Team Taylor are doing their part again for this very worthy cause.  Their goal is to top the $20,000 mark at the September 24th event.  To learn more about their effort and/or contribute, please check out their fundraising site by clicking here.  

- DH

Cancer Survivor to Visit 92 Soccer Stadiums in 92 Hours for Charity

One of the reasons I started this blog was to help amplify the stories of extraordinary people you've never heard of using sports to make a difference. In essence, the goal has been to throw a spotlight on the inspiring subjects who are typically relegated to the back pages of local sports sections.   

In that spirit, meet James Aldis.  He and the team he's assembled (a collection of family and friends) are pictured in the accompanying photo wearing matching t-shirts and holding soccer balls.  Let me explain.  

Aldis, a soccer enthusiast who lives just outside of London, is embarking on a mission later this month and bringing his mates along to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital's Cancer Charity.  

The cause is a personal one for Aldis.  Now 26, he was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 12.  He's also battled non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and endured two bone marrow transplants in the subsequent years.  All along, the Royal Marsden Hospital has provided his care.  

About that mission.  Called 92 in 92, it's an effort by Aldis and his crew to visit all 92 Football (or soccer as we say in the States) League stadiums in England and Wales in 92 hours or less and raise £2,000 for Royal Marsden.  

Their journey gets underway on Tuesday, August 23.  To learn more or make a contribution, please visit their site by clicking here.  

- DH

Fans at PGA's Wyndham Championship to Select $100,000-Winning Children's Charity

While the 2011 version of the Wyndham Championship doesn't get underway for another 10 days, the PGA tournament played annually in Greensboro, North Carolina is already making news.  

First, it was announced that Wyndham Worldwide has signed on to serve as title sponsor of the tournament for the next four years.  That's not only good news for the PGA and the Greensboro area, it's also good news for the many non-profit organizations that have benefited from the Wyndham Championship's generous ways since the hospitality company began its affiliation with the tournament five years ago.  

Speaking of "generous ways," that's the cause for the tournament's other splash this week.  Thanks to a contribution from Wishes by Wyndham (the company's philanthropic foundation), $100,000 will be awarded to a children-focused charity at the conclusion of this year's Wyndham Championship.  

During the course of the event, spectators on hand will have the opportunity to vote at available computer kiosks and choose from among 50 local and national non-profit children's organizations.  After tallying the ballots, the winning charity will be announced and presented with the sizable check on the 18th green following the final round on Sunday, August 21st.  

When the U.S. economy takes a hit, all too often so does the country's charitable giving.  Wyndham and its foundation should be commended for their commitment to making a difference in the lives of young people who need it most.  

If you're headed to Greensboro for the Wyndham Championship later this month, don't forget to vote!  

- DH

MLS W.O.R.K.S. Signals League's Maturity off the Field

This week's 2011 MLS All-Star Game didn't conclude quite the way the league would have liked.  And by "conclude," I'm referring to the MLS team's convincing 4-0 loss to Manchester United.  

Nevertheless, outcome aside (which admittedly is a pretty big aside), this week was a pretty good showcase for the MLS.  The league's All-Stars went toe-to-toe with one of the world's best clubs, played competitively and close for much of the match, and did it in front of a sold-out Big Apple crowd while an international audience tuned in.  Not too bad.   

There's no question the league's development and growth are not happening fast enough for true-blue MLS fans.  There's also little question, however, that the development and growth are taking place just the same.    

One of the overlooked ways the league has matured is off the field altogether: it's the way the MLS is making an impact through charitable service.   

Launched just four years ago, MLS W.O.R.K.S. is the platform used by the league and its clubs to conduct community outreach and "address important social issues affecting young people."  Through the initiative, MLS partners with a host of leading charitable organizations to offer programs that are making a difference in the fight against cancer, the effort to promote volunteer service, and the movements to ensure a cleaner environment and healthier lifestyles.  

Thanks in no small part to MLS W.O.R.K.S., the league is also leaving an All-Star community service footprint in New York and New Jersey that will be felt for some time.  Chief among the lasting legacies is a new pool pavilion in NYC's Washington Heights neighborhood that will provide services to more than 100,000 community members.  The project will also ensure that sports and fitness programs will be available year-round to some 20,000 area children.  

My guess is the beneficiaries of the league's charitable work this week would agree - the 2011 version of the MLS All-Star Game was not too bad indeed.  

- DH