Spreading the Love: Phoenix Tennis Pro Launches Nonprofit ‘LoveAll10s’ to Support Local Youth It was summer 2020, and the coronavirus pandemic had shut down most of the country. Not a lot was known yet about the virus, or how to appropriately prevent illness, but it was determined early on that tennis was one of the safest activities–due in part to playing the sport outside and the natural physical distancing between players. During this summer, Phoenix tennis pro Leslie Banks administered a small tennis summer camp for students in the Phoenix Union High School District. This district is one of the nationally recognized school districts that serve a 95 percent minority population and have federally mandated desegregation funding. Diversity is a hallmark in Phoenix Union High School District, with 81 percent of students identifying as Latino and a large refugee population that represents over 71 languages. More than half of the students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Language and economic barriers can make a sport like tennis challenging to access, and many of the schools within the Phoenix Union High School District do not offer strong tennis programs for their students. Working with these students over the summer, Banks became inspired to want to do more to support these students through the game of tennis. “Throughout the duration of the
page 4
summer camp, I grew increasingly passionate about creating a more encompassing program to help and elevate these hardworking, inspiring teenagers,” said Banks. “Tennis can be the perfect sport to positively impact these students.” Banks spent the Fall researching what it would take to launch a nonprofit organization and had a central mission and structure established rapidly. Within a few months, LoveAll10s (pronounced Love All Tennis) was launched. “The pandemic created a well-documented academic and social gulf among school districts. LoveAll10s’s core mission is to positively impact the underserved youth’s self-confidence, perseverance, responsibility, and healthy lifestyle through the game of tennis,” said Banks. Banks is relatively new to Phoenix and Arizona generally. She transplanted with her husband in the summer of 2019 from Houston, TX, where she was the Director of Junior Tennis at Lakeside Country Club. The move opened new opportunities to broaden her work beyond the tennis court, and she has embraced the challenge. Currently, Banks, a certified USPTA coach, teaches a broad spectrum of the population by dividing her time between the Phoenix Country Club and the beautiful Phoenix Tennis Center (where LoveAll10s is
being held), and she also serves as a Board Member of the nonprofit Friendly House. Being present in these diverse locations helps to spread the message of LoveAll10s, and hopefully lifelong supporters of the cause. LoveAll10s offers a year-long tennis academy to participating students that is complemented by transformative and engaging programing to offer the students support and assistance off court. Students have learned about subjects like nutrition and personal finance alongside their tennis coaching. “The most important aspect of the LoveAll10s program is the life advice and support I received from Coach Leslie. She is a contagious beacon of joy and enthusiasm that has opened my eyes to the benefits of health and wealth management,” said Steven Le, a LoveAll10s participant. “By listening to her advice, sharing my own opinions, and incorporating our ideas together, I have formed a whole new mindset.” >>
December 2021
