Legacy of support continues through generations
By LINDA M. LINONIS
LIBERTY
From generation to generation, l’dor v’dor in Hebrew reflects the importance of tradition in Jewish culture.
For Amy Hendricks and others of her generation, it means carrying on a legacy being passed from their parents. A national board member in the United States for the Israel Tennis & Education Centers, she said she and others in the Valley saw an example set by their parents and are following it.
A team of players and coaches from the Israel Tennis & Education Centers visited the Mahoning Valley on Monday to present an invitation-only tennis exhibition at Youngstown Country Club, 1402 Country Club Drive. The event served as a fundraiser for the centers.
Children on the team represent diverse backgrounds included Loui, a 10-year-old Arab child.
They gave personal accounts of how being involved in the tennis center has positively affected their lives.
Hendricks and her husband, Bob, were chairmen of the event. Members of the host committee were Terri and Steven Anderson, Sabrina and Sam Shapiro, Stephanie and Tom Shapiro, Kim and Jeff Simon and Kelly and Bruce Tamarkin. Hendricks said the example of the involvement of her parents, Jean and Ken Fibus, provided the example for her follow. That mirrored the experience of others on the committee.
Hendricks said she has visited Israel and the centers twice and plans a third trip. “I saw first-hand how the sport of tennis is being used to improve lives of children in Israel,” she said. “I love tennis, Israel and children.”
“Children get meals and are nurtured there,” she said. “I’ve seen happy children whose lives have been improved.”
The name Israel Tennis & Education Centers may be misleading in that the organization is much more than a place where children learn how to play tennis. Through its social impact programs, ITEC serves youths at risk, immigrant children and children with special needs including autism, Down syndrome and those with developmental and physical disabilities.
Richard Weber, ITEC global director of marketing in New York, said there are 14 centers in Israel, and they serve some 20,000 children. “Thirteen out of the 14 centers are in under-served areas of cities,” he said.
Israel, a melting pot of world cultures, has immigrant children from many religious backgrounds. What brings them together, Weber said, is the sport of tennis and the life skills it teaches. At the centers, children of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other religious backgrounds hailing from a variety of cultures, play tennis together, which builds bridges among them.
Tennis is the vehicle used to interest students, who reap benefits of other ITEC programs. Hendricks said tennis teaches players about winning and losing, honesty, integrity, team spirit, hard work and discipline. Those skills transcend sports and can be applied to school and life.
In addition to tennis instruction, ITEC provides a kindergarten program that it touts as its “core educational effort.” The website, www.itecenters.org, notes that the program focuses on improving motor skills, promotes a healthy lifestyle and teaches tolerance and compassion. Other programs focus on coexistence and instruction in English.
The first ITEC center opened in 1976 in Ramat Hasharon. Dr. William Lippy, a Warren physician, was among the founders who hailed from the U.S., Israel and United Kingdom. The group saw tennis as the means “to create champions in tennis and life.”