Story by Rachel Morley
When Racquets for All was created in late 2008, everyone involved was excited at the prospect of collecting gently used racquets and donating them to those who needed them, but the thought of collecting 10,000 racquets wasn’t on anyone’s radar. But that’s exactly what happened in 2022! Looking back on the history of the grass-roots program, it has been full of growth, heartwarming stories and impressive milestones, all focused on providing access to tennis throughout Colorado.
In the fall of 2008, USTA Colorado was approached by an avid tennis player, David Van Liere, who asked if they had a program to recycle or repurpose used tennis racquets and balls. There was no such official program in place and after some research, it was determined that no such program was easily found in Colorado. And, thus, Racquets for All (RfA) was born, becoming a part of the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation (CYTF), the fundraising arm of USTA Colorado with a mission to make tennis available to all kids regardless of economic, social or ethnic background.
Establishing a mission to collect, assess, refurbish and distribute tennis racquets, tennis balls and other tennis equipment to individuals and organizations lacking access throughout the state, a Racquets for All committee made up of members of committed volunteers was established. In addition to the committee, RfA has volunteers throughout the state who play a role in the entire collection and distribution process, including restringing and regripping racquets, as needed, before they are added to the central inventory storage.
Initially, the RfA committee reached out to metro Denver tennis facilities to see if they would allow a collection barrel at their locations where their members could drop off used racquets and balls. In the first two months, three facilities – Ken Caryl, Meadow Creek and South Suburban – had collected 88 racquets. It was a great start for a program that has evolved and grown in many ways since then.
Some things have remained the same – the committee is still fully volunteer driven and many of the donated racquets still come from tennis facilities, although now from places throughout Colorado rather than just in metro Denver. But the changes are where many of Racquets for All’s successes lie.
One of the biggest changes has been from sponsor support, most notably from Subaru who became the major sponsor of the program in 2012.
Tony Graziano, Vice-President, Subaru Western Region (pictured at top right, alongside Subaru Regional Marketing Manager, Scott Thompson), was instrumental in the partnership between Subaru and USTA Colorado.
“We saw supporting the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation and Racquets for All as a terrific partnership and a great fit with our Share the Love promise. Being a part of the community where we do business is in the Subaru DNA,” says Graziano.
In addition to Subaru’s sponsorship, Racquets for All has developed relationships with Head, Babolat and Tennis Warehouse, who have all donated, or greatly reduced their prices on racquets, grip and string.
Another notable change is in where and from whom racquets are collected. While the initial collections were all through outreach to tennis clubs, Racquets for All now collects racquets from high schools as part of the statewide High School Challenge and from individuals who contact RfA. These individual donations have ranged from an 8-year-old requesting racquets instead of presents for her birthday to teenagers collecting racquets for their bar and/or bat mitzvah or school projects to some who purchase and donate new racquets each year.
The generosity of Subaru, our corporate donors, and the tennis community has allowed Racquets for All to celebrate many highlights including:
- Collecting more than 1,400 racquets through the RfA High School Challenge.
- More than 1,000 new racquets being purchased by Subaru to supplement those donated by members of the community. Many of these racquets were of specific grip sizes and lengths to ensure that we could meet the needs of various populations who requested racquets.
- Providing close to 9,000 racquets to more than 150 organizations, including schools, parks & recreation programs, correctional facilities, and Special Olympics, to name a few.
- Collecting and distributing more than 80,000 used tennis balls.
- Creating a Youth Tennis Kit which includes junior racquets, beginner balls and other equipment so tennis programs can be started in schools, neighborhoods, parks and gyms.
- Recognizing 5 committee members, over the years, for their contributions as service award winners at the annual Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala.
- High school students receiving volunteer hours for the time they provide to Racquets for All to string and regrip racquets before we donate them.
- Providing equipment to the City of Brush, Colorado which allowed them to start a tennis program.
- Being recognized by the Cherry Creek High School tennis team with their Community Service Award.
- Collecting and distributing ball machines, stringing machines, ball carts and hoppers, court squeegees, tennis nets, tennis clothing and shoes, and other tennis related equipment and supplies.
- The RFA highlights have resulted in many great stories over the years, but one that continues to grow is out of Bear Creek High School in Lakewood. Coach Scott Harguth has been the boys’ and girls’ tennis coach for 27 years at the school and has been the recipient of racquets for years. He says, “We have a program called BC Prep where we have a 1-hour class each week on a variety of topics we think might be of interest to students. I teach a tennis class and when a student shows genuine interest in the game, I have been able to give them their own racquet, thanks to Racquets for All.”
In 2021, a racquet stringing machine, which was donated by a private individual, was offered to Coach Harguth to further expand what was taught in his BC Prep tennis class. “It’s been a great thing,” he says. “We currently have about 8 kids who are learning to string racquets. It’s a great trade for them to learn and I hope to build on it.” Coach Harguth worked with the high school to build a shed for the stringing machine, which he plans to utilize a lot during the winter when kids have more time to string between the boys’ and girls’ seasons. He hopes that those learning will become skilled enough to string their own racquets as well as for their teammates and, ultimately, be able to give back to RfA by being volunteer stringers.
“Racquets for All is a great program,” says Harguth. “The Bear Creek High School population is well over 50% free and reduced lunch, and without us getting racquets from RfA all of these years, we would not have a tennis team. Now with those in the BC Prep program also getting racquets from RfA, it is opening up doors for even more kids and I’m excited to see how they apply the skills they are learning to their lives.”
As mentioned by Coach Harguth, when Racquets for All provides racquets, they are for the recipient to keep. And, if they have siblings or a parent who wants to learn to play, racquets are given to them as well so they can play together.
Racquets for All looks forward to expanding the program in 2023. After losing 2 years of collections due to COVID, the group is back on track with collection and distribution numbers and plans to have more collection barrels placed throughout the state. Marketing efforts through a new video (created by the same 8-year-old mentioned earlier who asked for racquets instead of presents for her birthday and who is now a member of the RfA committee!) and revamped social media will help grow awareness both for those who want to donate as well as those who need equipment.
Racquets for All has become a leader in providing kids an opportunity to play tennis in Colorado through its various partnerships. Subaru’s Graziano summed this up perfectly after a recent event attended by many kids who have received racquets from RfA. He said “I had a chance to speak with a few parents who were so excited that their kids could participate in tennis. Without the CYTF and Racquets for All, many of these kids would never have had this opportunity. It’s changing lives and that’s really gratifying to see.”
To learn more about Racquets for All – how/where to donate equipment, how to become a volunteer, to request equipment – visit our webpage or follow us on Instagram or Facebook. There are lots of ways to volunteer with Racquets for All, including collecting racquets from facilities near you, helping with social media, storing racquets before they are distributed and coordinating collection events. All of our success has been due to our volunteers so join us in continuing to grow this great program throughout Colorado.