New York Junior Tennis & Learning Receives $1 Million from Pershing Square Foundation

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) has received $1 million from the Pershing Square Foundation. The gift will go towards the program’s Scholar Athlete Program, offering New York youth educational and tennis support with the intent of college enrollment, attendance, and graduation. 

“The Scholar athlete program is built on a core tenet of the organization, which is that we believe talent is universal, but opportunity is not, and what we want to do is create as much opportunity for that talent that's buried and inherent in many communities, often low-income communities of color. What the scholar athletes program says is that we are going to provide a high level of tennis and academic support to those with limited financial resources.” said Udai Tambar, NYJTL’s president & CEO.

Since 1971, New York Junior Tennis & Learning has served the New York community and been noted for its range of programming directed at underserved children and teens in need of enriching extracurricular activities. It is the largest youth tennis and education nonprofit nationwide, impacting over 85,000 youth in New York City. 

“Tennis has a perception that it's elite and inaccessible to communities without resources and we want to change that perception and that reality because we know tennis can be transformative for young people. Tennis allows you to get out there, be physically active and be safe. At the same time it helps you develop camaraderie, healthy relationships, and character grit. Once you make the connection to tennis with other programming, including education, it's foundational.“ Tambar said.

Both NYJTL and the Pershing Square Foundation have an established relationship through longtime donor Bill Ackman, a co-trustee of the foundation and donor towards the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, an athletic and educational facility managed by NYJTL, to which he gave $1 million. 

The Scholar Athlete Program will serve as the flagship NYJTL program and will launch during the NYJTL 50th Anniversary Gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 4, 2022.