customer spotlight: ellen doll and the impact of the support the courts foundation
The founding group of Support the Courts. Left to right: Sara Donaldson, Jay Swanson, Ellen Doll, Ron Cornwell, Amy Quinlivan, Bruce Camp.
By Ellen Doll
I grew up in St. Cloud, MN and started playing tennis when I was about 9 years old. My best friend and I rode our bikes to public tennis courts in town and taught ourselves to play.
Fast forward to 2004. At this time the Kenwood Park tennis courts in Minneapolis were our neighborhood courts. After work and on the weekends, my tennis partner and I would sit on the hill waiting for an open court. I always thought Kenwood Park was such a beautiful setting, but the tennis courts were in extreme disrepair.
It dawned on me that, along with my friends, we could raise funds to rebuild the Kenwood Tennis Courts. We started a nonprofit corporation, went to work establishing relationships with USTA Northern, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), and the surrounding neighborhood organizations.
I’ll never forget our first fundraiser. We had a fabulous decorating committee and we asked Michael Lynne if he could lend us white pleated tennis skirts to cover the lampshades in the living room where the fundraiser was held. He generously agreed.
That was the beginning of Support the Courts. The idea was that after our first project was completed, we could use our efforts as a blueprint to rebuild tennis courts in other parts of the city. The goal was to rebuild a total of 20 tennis courts.
The four newly completed Morgan Park tennis courts.
After the completion of 25 courts, we started to lose steam. At that point, along came an enthusiastic and talented group of tennis parents from Washburn High School! Before we knew it, the Morgan Park tennis courts were reborn with the help of an epidemiologist, marketing professional, professional fundraiser, professional photographer and graphic designer.
The tennis courts we completed are listed below:
Kenwood Park (6)
Powderhorn Park (5)
Webber Park (5)
Pershing Park (4)
Lake Hiawatha Park (5)
Morgan Park (4)
As of today we have rebuilt 29 asphalt courts and have assisted with other sites including the Waveland Triangle and Creekside clay tennis courts.
Our next project will be the Lake Nokomis tennis courts, which will serve Roosevelt High School tennis teams and InnerCity ‘Tennis in the Parks’ programming. In a city with increasing crime and socioeconomic disparities, public tennis courts play an important role. Among other things, they provide children with the opportunity to engage in a fun, wholesome game and exercise activity after school, on the weekends and during the summer months.
Tennis courts are a great asset to our neighborhoods. By providing public tennis facilities, we enable more people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to enjoy the game. With lifetime health benefits, neighborhood tennis courts enhance the quality of life for families and children of all ages, from youth to senior players.
3 key volunteers for the Morgan Tennis Court project. From left to right - Beth Gyllstrom, Anne Miller, Tracy Robinson.
I play tennis at least 3x/week year round. I play in leagues and just for fun. With my husband and our two daughters, playing tennis has always been one of our favorite activities. And I still play tennis on a regular basis with my tennis partner from middle school. Tennis makes me happy.
Michael Lynne’s Tennis Shop is a tremendous asset for the game of tennis in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. I don’t think there has ever been a Christmas without something under the tree from Michael Lynne’s!
SUPPORT THE COURTS is an independent, all-volunteer, nonsectarian organization whose mission is to promote the health and well being of children and families in the City of Minneapolis by rebuilding tennis courts in Minneapolis public parks, focusing on courts that have youth programs and school programs that depend on them.
