The Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Golf & Tennis Gala to benefit the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation (MWKF) was held over two days on Sept. 12-13. The event included tennis and golf pro-ams and a gala dinner for nearly 400 people.
During the Gala program, 17 MWKF students were recognized for their accomplishments and awarded $70,000 in college scholarships. The event included a silent and live auction including private tennis lessons with Andre Agassi and Stephanie Graf, a round of golf with Jim Furyk and tennis great Ivan Lendl, and a seven-day vacation at Club Med's Sandpiper Resort. The event raised approximately $225,000 for the programs and services of the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation.
Celebrities who participated in this year's gala included NBA great Sam Jones; former Jacksonville Jaguar Tony Brackens; actor Chris Bruno; comedian and "Seinfeld" inspiration Kenny Kramer; former major league baseball players Sid Roberson and Desi Relaford; and tennis greats Todd Martin, Brian Gottfried, Jan-Michael Gambill, and Ricardo Acuna, among others.
This is year marks the 15 year anniversary of the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation. The Foundation has celebrated their anniversary with special projects including a 15 days of community service projects, an alumni party which brought together past staff, students and supporters in a reunion type celebration, and a free Kids Carnival sponsored by Verizon Wireless for the community.
MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation is a local, non-profit youth development organization which operates the TnT (Tennis-n-Tutoring) after-school program. The TnT program services over 180 underserved youth in the community and provides free homework assistance, tennis lessons and life skills classes to youth in grades kindergarten through high School on Monday through Friday.
The mission of the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation is to develop champions in classrooms, on tennis courts and throughout communities.
For additional information contact Ashley Strickland at Ashley@malwashington.com or (904) 359-5437.