Three elementary schools in Patrick County were given kid-sized tennis equipment from QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia, Inc. (QCV). Blue Ridge, Hardin Reynolds Memorial and Meadows of Dan elementary schools received this equipment courtesy of the Martinsville Area Endowment Fund (Martinsville Area Community Foundation), the Titmus Foundation, and the Richard & Caroline Gwathmey Memorial Trust, according to a release.

“The QuickStart Tennis grant allows Blue Ridge Elementary School students a great learning opportunity,” said Rozina S. Turner, Blue Ridge Elementary principal. “Tennis is not popular in our community, so the grant provides students exposure to another potential sport, one they may choose to continue to play in high school and throughout their lives. This grant provided resources that, due to limited funds, our school would not have. Thank you so much.”

Jessica Horton, a teacher at Hardin Reynolds Memorial, said “The new tennis equipment provides our students with a wonderful opportunity to learn basic skills for tennis. This sport can benefit students for a lifetime, teaching them teamwork, confidence and problem-solving skills. The rackets also give students a chance to build coordination skills, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. This equipment will be a valuable resource for our school for years to come. Thank you.”

Lynda Harrill, QCV QuickStart coordinator, said “Now all 1,800 students in the six elementary schools in Patrick County can learn to play tennis in school. We are so grateful to the grantors who made this possible and the enthusiasm in the community. We look forward to watching tennis grow in Patrick County.”

QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia is an all-volunteer, grassroots Community Tennis Association established in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to promote, develop and grow tennis in the heart of Virginia for all beginners, especially underserved youth, using the kid-sized QuickStart Tennis format.

QCV’s service area includes the counties of Albemarle, Amelia, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Culpeper, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Franklin, Greene, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Mecklenburg, Nelson, Nottoway, Orange, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Powhatan and Rappahannock and the cities of Charlottesville, Danville and Martinsville. The organization currently serves 207 schools with more than 95,000 kids, 15 parks & recreation departments, three Boys & Girls Clubs and three YMCAs in its service area. The organization also has been instrumental in getting tennis into physical education classes in 35 other schools, with 14,000 students in communities outside their service area.

For more information visit www.quickstartcentral.org.