Tennis For Free & GiveToLocal Team Up 

Tennis For Free is delighted to announce a national partnership with community sport organisation GiveToLocal.

Launched in December 2019, GiveToLocal connects community sports clubs to new sources of support making it possible for local people and businesses to contribute towards the secure future of their grassroots sports club and be rewarded in return.

Through GiveToLocal’s user-friendly app-based service, clubs are pro-actively connected to individual donors and businesses who can act as sponsors, enabling grassroots sport clubs to benefit from regular funding and increased sustainability through the ability to facilitate micro-donations in high volumes.

With more than 50,000 teams across 15 different sports signed up already, GiveToLocal recently swung open its doors to support grassroots tennis – allowing parks from all across the country to register their interest in the service.

Head of the charity Patrick Hollwey is excited and optimistic about the prospect of the national partnership with GiveToLocal.

"I’m really excited by what this partnership with GiveToLocal can offer grassroots tennis,” said Patrick.

"Working with the LTA, Tennis For Free provides opportunities to people from more deprived backgrounds.

"There are barriers that are in place stopping people from playing sport and we want to challenge and break down those barriers.

"Additionally, COVID-19 has presented us with difficult challenges. We had to cease all activities at the end of March and the peak period for outdoor sports is between April to September.

"So we’re really looking forward to kicking off this partnership with GiveToLocal as it gives us a chance to look forward.”

And Tennis For Free co-founder Tony Hawks is also in agreement about the partnership with GiveToLocal.

"We’re a very community focused charity,” said Tony.

"We aim to provide an activity for all, regardless of gender, background or ethnicity.

"We want to bring all sections of a community together which is obviously something that GiveToLocal looks to do too.”

Tennis For Free is a charity backed by a host of recognisable faces, with Pat Cash, Judy Murray and Stephen Fry amongst their supporters.

And Colin Stromsoy, Director of Strategic Partnerships at GiveToLocal, echoed Tennis For Free’s words of optimism.

"I couldn’t be more pleased that GiveToLocal are entering into a partnership with Tennis For Free,” said Colin.

It’s a truly outstanding charity that has done so much over many years to break down barriers to physical activity and social inclusion through their tennis for free sessions.

"Tennis For Free is a charity whose core values resonate heavily with our own.

"The work that Patrick and his team have done since founding the charity back in 2004 has seen more opportunities provided to people from all over the UK, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle.

"The whole team at GiveToLocal is looking forward to playing our part in the next chapter of this great charity and helping to ensure more people can continue to benefit from the terrific work they do right across the country.”

Working in partnership with Tennis For Free, GiveToLocal will aim to help the sport of tennis become more accessible to people across the UK.

And this commitment to supporting grassroots tennis was re-affirmed by GiveToLocal CEO and co-founder, Neil Gardiner.

"To be able to form a positive working relationship with such a respected charity like Tennis For Free is an incredibly positive development for us as an organisation,” explained Neil.

"Positive physical activity should be available to anyone and everyone irrespective of how much money they have. To be able to play our part in helping more people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds access the services Tennis for Free provide is a real source of pride for our team.

"It also comes at a great time as we’ve recently added the sport of tennis to our family of sports, allowing tennis clubs nationwide to be able to benefit from GiveToLocal.

"So for us to roll out our service to tennis clubs and be able to partner up with the leading charity in the sport at the same time is incredible.

"This new partnership fills me, and the entire team here at GiveToLocal with an immense amount of pride. We can’t wait to get started!”

To register your clubs interest in GiveToLocal, click here.

For more information on GiveToLocal, visit www.givetolocal.com.