Serving Up Hope

Happy World Tennis Day!! A day for growing the game, celebrating its players, and learning more about its history! Today’s history lesson in tennis: the governing body of tennis (the International Tennis Federation, or ITF) was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Association. World Tennis Day was first celebrated in 2013 by the ITF to celebrate 100 years of encouraging people to pick up tennis racquets around the globe!!

Northshore YMCA training with Vania King!! Our founder is on the West Coast, first stop Seattle! Getting ready for action with Carly and Lance at the Northshore YMCA, part of YMCA of Greater Seattle

Catching up on photos from the Kampala Junior Open – and a bunch of success from our Serving Up Hope Uganda players! The tournament was hosted at the Kampala Club, in Uganda’s capital city. Some of the tournament highlights: ?? Boys ?? Cosmos Munguriek – winner U14 Lagara Edmond – 3rd place U14 Ronnie Agen – winner U12 Moses Elobo – 2nd place U12 Jude Lubankene – 3rd place U12 ?? Girls??? Fortunate – winner U14 Gift – 2nd place U14 Anena Angel – winner U12 Priscilla – 2nd place U12

L.A. Lee YMCA in South Florida! Vania passed off some equipment last week to our friends at the L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center 133 kids took part in this Serving Up Hope x South Florida partnership in 2024!!

Vania King was busy this week in South Florida! First up, some snapshots from the Serving Up Hope partnership with the Deerfield Beach Parks & Rec department. Our founder led a training for their staff at Constitution Park and a new site, the Johnny L. Tigner Community Center. The new program works with 30 kids ages 5-12, and the Constitution Park program continues to support a similar number.

Weekend winners in Kitale! Red and orange ball groups crowned a few champions this weekend in Uganda ??

Serving Up Hope has a new website! Revamped with everything you need to know about our organization… our programs, our team, how to get involved, and more! Check it out at servinguphope.org

New player ambassador highlight! Serving Up Hope is proud to welcome Jamie Loeb to the player ambassador team!! Jamie, a 29-year-old professional tennis player, was born and raised in Ossining, New York, where she picked up a racquet at the age of three. After a standout junior career, finishing as the top-ranked junior in the United States, Jamie earned a full scholarship to the University of North Carolina. In 2015, she made history as the first Tar Heel to win the NCAA Singles Championship and soon after turned professional. Since then, Jamie has competed on the ITF and WTA circuits, reaching a career-high singles ranking of 132 and a doubles ranking of 117. She has competed in all four Grand Slams, with one of her notable achievements being her qualification for the 2021 US Open, where she played Iga ?wi?tek in the first round of the main draw. Jamie graduated with a degree in Communication and Media Studies from UNC in December 2022. On why she wanted to join Serving Up Hope: This opportunity allows me to create opportunities for kids to play tennis and gain exposure to a sport they might not have access to otherwise. By providing resources and support, I hope to open doors for these kids and help them reach their full potential, no matter where they come from. My goal is to reach as many children as possible, across the globe, and make a positive difference in their lives. Welcome, Jamie!

Today the sports world celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day! Serving Up Hope is a women-led organization – founded and functioning with a keen interest in introducing girls to tennis and supporting them on their journey! Who we are: ?? More than half of the Board is female ?? Almost 90% of our team is female ?? Over 90% of our player ambassadors are female!

It’s Vania King’s birthday!! Happy birthday to the fearless & fantastic founder of Serving Up Hope!