Student Spotlight
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Jasmine Williams, 11 years old, was SquashWise's Student-Athlete of the
Year for 2008-2009. Jasmine is kind, respectful, and enthusiastic every
time she attends practice. She works equally as hard on the squash
court as she does in the classroom. Her ability to remain focused no
matter how chaotic her surroundings is to be commended.
Jasmine made her television debut as a weather reporter on Fox45
News. The Weather Kid Wednesday segment allows students to learn about meteorology and news production.
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| StreetSquash Player Visits SquashWise |
We welcome Lizandro Rodriquez, a tenth grader from Harlem's StreetSquash program. Lizandro is volunteering this week for SquashWise's Summer Day Camp. He is a fantastic squash player and a great role model for our students. Thanks, Lizandro!
Read about StreetSquash in the New York Times. Click here.
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| Students Head to Summer Camps! |
All of our students have been placed in sleep-away camps  for squash and
academic enrichment this summer! What a great opportunity for our
students to continue to excel on the court and off this summer.- Princeton squash camp
- Naval Academy squash camp
- NYC: StreetSquash Summer Discovery Camp
- Philly: SquashSmarts Embrace Camp
Crystal Rogers recently  returned from the Naval Academy's STEM camp, where she learned lessons in chemistry, engineering, oceanography, and more. She returned home with stories of why the Titanic sank, and recipes for ice cream using liquid nitrogen (see photo). An incredible experience! Click here for the story.
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World Squash Day
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Urban squash programs nationwide participated in the international movement to get squash into the 2016 Olympics. SquashWise led the call in Baltimore by celebrating at Meadow Mill, and Surf City Squash (San Diego) represented urban squash at the International Olympic Committee meeting in Geneva last month. For more info, click here.
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 SquashWise recently wrapped up its first year
of academic and squash programming with its inaugural team of students from
Booker T. Washington Middle School. It was quite a year with a lot of
accomplishments! We have seen improvements in our students' fitness, behavior and attitude, their knowledge of U.S. geography through our USA challenge lessons, and their general desire to learn new things. They have had the opportunity to visit the following places for field trips and service projects (to name only a few):
- The Days End Farm Horse Rescue
- The Walters Art Museum
- The Hippodrome Theater
- Philadelphia & The Liberty Bell
- The U.S. Naval Academy varsity squash clinic
- The National Urban Squash Championships at Williams
College
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SquashWise Receives Major Foundation Funding
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SquashWise recently received generous grants
from several local foundations to fund the 2009-2010 program. Thank you for your support!
- The
Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation: $35,000 to fund new staff positions for 2009-2010
- The Middendorf Foundation: $15,000 to fund the SquashWise activity bus
- The Platt Foundation: $15,000 in programmatic support
- The Commonweal
Foundation: $10,000 to fund operational expenses for 2009-2010
- The Ravens All-Community Team Foundation: $5,000 to fund nutritional and fitness programming for 2009-2010
- Thanks also to The Kahlert Foundation, Inc., The Hoffberger Foundation, The Eliasberg Family Foundation, The Miles & Stockbridge Foundation, Ober-Kaler, and many other charitable individuals who gave this year.
Your contributions are bound to make a huge difference in
the lives of our participants.
NUSEA Challenge Grant: Only Two Months Left to
Reach our Goal!
Once we raise $200,000, the
National Urban Squash & Education Association (NUSEA) will contribute
another $50,000 to our program. We have raised $150,000 toward this goal, but we need your help to get all the way there. See below for information on making a
contribution to help us get there. |
The National Urban Individual Championships
Williams College, June 19-21
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 SquashWise
was one of the newest teams to compete at the national urban individual
championships at  Williams College last weekend. Sponsored by the National Urban Squash & Education Association, the
tournament drew nearly 300 players from 9 urban squash programs.
Participants traveled from Boston, San Diego, Chicago, New Haven, New
York City, Philadelphia and Denver. Four SquashWise students came home
with a winning match, and all of our students played well!
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Spotlight on Community Service
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 In May, our students spent an afternoon as farm-hands at the Days End Farm Horse Rescue, a rehabilitation center for abused and injured horses. We cleaned troughs, sc rubbed buckets, and toured the farm.
This
year, we also provided service to Habitat for Humanity and to senior
citizens in Park Heights, through the Senior Home Repair Day sponsored
by Baltimore CHAI (Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.) During our summer camp this week, we wrote letters to the troops stationed abroad through Any Soldier, Inc. Our students wished the soldiers well and told them about their experiences with SquashWise.
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Recap: Mt. Washington Tavern $10,000 event, June 17th
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Thanks to everyone
who came out to the Mt. Washington Tavern on Jun e 17th. Although we won't find
out whether or not we won the $10,000 prize until the end of the competition in
December, the Tavern tells us that we are currently in the top 5 of all the
nonprofits competing. We also made nearly $2,500 on the raffle, the silent
auction, and t-shirt sales.
Please contact info@baltimoresquashwise.org if
you want to purchase a T-shirt for $15.
Want to Donate?
 SquashWise
needs your help in order to reach our $200,000 fundraising goal by
August 31! When we reach this goal, the National Urban Squash &
Education Association will award us a $50,000 matching grant. Please
donate by sending a check, payable to "Baltimore SquashWise" to:
Baltimore SquashWise
3600 Clipper Mill Rd.
Suite 107
Baltimore, MD 21211
You may also contribute online by clicking here: www.baltimoresquashwise.org
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