Harvard University / Tenacity, Inc. Partnership
Goal: Create a partnership between a university, its students, tennis players, coaches, administrators and graduate schools, with a community-based youth outreach program for Boston middle school children
Program Size: 45-48 (total capacity) for middle and high school
College/University: Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Community Size: 6,715 (undergraduate), 12,424 (graduate)
Leader/Advocate Organization: Ned Eames, Executive Director, Tenacity, Inc.
Budget: $0 from Harvard (donated use of facilities and provided student tutoring)
Funding Source: Private, corporate, municipal
Introduction: Harvard men’s tennis coach Dave Fish first met Ned Eames when he tried to recruit Eames to Harvard. Eames chose Penn State but the two reconnected in Boston years later and collaborated on an after-school program designed to give back to underserved youths in the Boston area. In the mid-1990s, Harvard was building a new sport facility. Fish saw this as a chance for the university to give back to the community but was concerned that he lacked the time to run such a program. Eames, the executive director of Tenacity, Inc., a youth development organization that offers free tennis instruction and academic support to Boston students, had the time, drive and resources to make it happen.
History: In 1997, Fish and Eames met to brainstorm ideas for a program. Eames, working on behalf of Tenacity, secured the funding to make the program—an after-school reading, tennis and tutoring program based on Stanford University Tennis and Education program)—a reality. Fish contributed by offering courts and classroom space at Harvard for the program’s students to play and study. The partnership between Tenacity and Harvard has been a great success. Tenacity took the lead in organizing the after-school program, while Harvard provided the facilities and student tutoring. Harvard also supplied use of its facilities for Tenacity fundraising events. Tenacity students (those in the afterschool program) have also worked as scorekeepers in the Harvard men’s and women’s tennis matches as part of a job-training program, for which they are compensated. Most recently, Tenacity has conducted major fundraising pro-ams at Harvard’s Murr Indoor Tennis Center as part of its association as the official charity of the Champions Cup, a Boston-based professional tournament began in 2006. Since its inception, the program has become nationally recognized by the USTA, the ITA and the local press. The current program runs Monday and Wednesday during the school year, from 2-5 p.m. The kids play tennis for 90 minutes and are tutored for 90 minutes. The instructors vary, ranging from members of the Harvard tennis team to 40 members of City Serve, a Harvard Volunteer organization.
Funding:
- Harvard donated tennis and meeting facilities to Tenacity.
- Members of the Harvard community act as tennis instructors and tutors.
- Tenacity pays for transportation and the recruiting of students to the program via a variety of external grants and donations.
Lesson: Working with others can benefit everyone concerned. Partnerships are often the most effective way to achieve an objective. In this case, Eames saw a void he wanted to fill; Fish saw a chance for Harvard and the tennis team to get involved in the local community and build support for his team within the university. Eames had the drive and time to make the program a reality; Fish had the resources. By working together, the two men were able to combine their strengths to create a strong, lasting program that benefited more than just Tenacity and Harvard—it benefited the kids in the program.
Contact Information:
David Fish, Men’s Tennis Head Coach
Harvard University
Telephone: 617-495-3676 • E-mail: Davefish1@aol.com
Ned Eames, Executive Director
Tenacity, Inc.
Telephone: 617-562-0900 • E-mail: NedEames@Tenacity.org
