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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy
Sport: Tennis
Year the initative began (yyyy) 1993
Project URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21500713@N04
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? The Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy is dedicated to teaching life skills, promoting community service, providing positive role models, strengthening the educational opportunities and developing the tennis skills of Houston's diverse youth population.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? Your age, your race, your gender, and your financial situation do not factor to into your success in our program. We have a unique staff that is able to mentor our kids whether it is on the court, doing homework, or just dealing with everyday issues. We create a family for our kids. The proven success of our program is that we have students who have completed our program and have received full academic and/or tennis scholarships.
What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? We want to level the playing field for our underserved youth in Houston. Without programs like ours they do not have access to people and opportunities for growth. They have a limited scope of what lies ahead of them in life.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? Education and Life Skills
After-school tutoring and mentoring programs at all levels SAT/ACT tutoring on individual basis College search and application support First Serve Program teaching life skills Writers in the Schools (WITS) teaching writing skills Volunteers from Young Professionals Group provide tutoring and mentoring Core values and goal achievement reinforced through tennis Community Service Community service requirements and activities for all participants Tennis and Healthy Lifestyle How do you plan to grow your innovation? We are currently in the process of negotiating a permanent facility to house the Zina Garrison Academy. We have several options available either at a City of Houston Park or at a private location.
The need for a leadership development program for our girls is in the planning phase. We continue to address the current needs of our students by implementing up to date programming as it is necessary. Tennis is so important to our students but we know that they must be able to perform in the academic arena when they receive scholarships. Staying in school and having the skills to do so is equally important to our staff, the parents and to our kids. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. When we asked one of our graduates what the Academy meant to her " This is my family."
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? Every student who has stayed with our program throughout high school has received a college scholarship. Everyone benefits when we have this kind of success. The parents are relieved of the finanacial burden of college costs, the staff sees the impact of their work and this is a great motivational tool and the community is a recipient of a well rounded individual that knows the importance of education and social responsibility.
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? Funding is our main barrier. Houston is a large city with thousands of non profits. There are so many choices and we need the support of people who understand the importance of sports and how they can change the life of a child.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? We are supported by two annual fundraisers, corporate donations, individual donations and grants.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. $600,000 is our annual budget.
$524,00 is our annual revenue generated. Full time staff - 6 What is the potential demand for your innovation? We are understaffed for how many children who attend our program. With tennis there is a limit to how many kids can be on the court. On a yearly basis we have over 1,200 kids in our program. As stated above we only have 6 coaches.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? Our financing affects our ability to market our program successfully. We do not have a headquarters for our Academy and it is hard to sell something that is only program based. Concrete is real and solid and sustainable.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. Raised in a low income neighborhood of Houston and exposed to many negative influences, 10-year old, Zina Garrison began experiencing the extraordinary benefits of John Wilkerson's tennis coaching. Zina took advantage of free tennis lessons fused with personal guidance that kept her engaged in tennis and off the streets. Zina became the #1 Girl's Junior Player in 1981. Shortly afterwards, Zina turned pro, with John as her full-time coach ultimately going on to become ranked #4 in the world.
Wanting to give back to the community and provide similar opportunities to today's youth, Zina and John founded the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy in 1993. Using the same public courts where Zina grew up, the Homer Ford Tennis Center at MacGregor Park and the Memorial Park Tennis Center in Memorial Park that, they set out to accomplish their mission. Thirteen years later the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy has refined its programs to target maturing youth. We help them discover their individual talents, make friends and build self-esteem while learning the game of tennis, a lifetime sport. The Academy combines tennis, fitness and academics to produce well rounded individuals with an interest in their community, a strong work ethic, and a sense of respect for others on and off the court. The Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy continues to reevaluate itself and change to provide the best program in theHouston area. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. This Zina Garrison
Born: November 16, 1964 Garrison began playing tennis at the age of 10 on the city courts here in Houston. She turned professional in 1982 after being ranked the #1 Junior Player in the World. She reached a career high of #4 and became the first Black woman since Althea Gibson to reach a Grand Slam final in 1990. At Wimbledon, Garrison beat Monica Seles and Steffi Graf in back-to-back matches before losing the final to Martina Navratilova 6-4, 6-1. With Pam Shriver, she earned the 1988 Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul, Korea. She earned a Bronze Medal in Singles. One of the finest doubles players in the game’s recent history, Garrison captured 20 major championship titles. •Founder and Chairman of the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy in Houston, TX 1993 to present. Contact Information:
Linda Elliott
Executive Director Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy (501 (c) 3 NGO) Discussions about this entry |
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Zina Garrison Academy
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As you state, Linda, the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy is indeed understaffed with just six full-time coaches. Yet the Academy has accomplished so much in reaching nearly 20,000 youth in thirteen years. You do a good job here, too, of telling the story of the successful partnership between Zina Garrison and John Wilkerson in establishing the Academy.
You're to be congratulated for making tennis accessible to so many underserved youth in the Houston metropolitan area.
Steve Byars
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California