High School Varsity Tennis Champion to Serve an Ace Against Poverty

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Aug. 16, 2013) – Cheryl Kalapura, a member of Holland Hall High School’s varsity tennis team, will host The Adult Child Doubles Charity Tournament Saturday, Sept. 14, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at LaFortune Park Tennis Center, 5302 South Hudson Avenue, Tulsa, Okla. Parents and children are encouraged to register, donate and enjoy an evening of tennis matches, with proceeds to benefit the nonprofit Food For The Poor.
Register online at www.FoodForThePoor.org/tennis through Saturday, Sept. 7, to compete in the tennis tournament. The registration fee is $25 per team. An award will be given to the winning team. For more information, please email fftptennis@gmail.com.

Cheryl was inspired to organize the tennis tournament and partner with Food For The Poor in June, after she heard Father Paul Wilderotter speak about the nonprofit at Saint Bernard’s Catholic Church. Cheryl was especially touched during Father Wilderotter’s homily, in which he described the experience of an 11-year-old girl who saw Jesus in the eyes of everyone she met.
Cheryl’s parents encouraged her to use her talents when trying to decide how she could best help. Working alongside several of her tennis coaches, an outline for a tournament took shape. Her longtime coach, Megan Patterson from The Grand Health & Racquet Club, suggested the tournament involve all ages.

“I would just tell them to set their mind on a goal, no matter the size, and persevere to achieve that goal,” said Cheryl, when asked what advice she would give to others who are interested in helping. “Never give up, even if others discourage you and tell you it's not possible. They shouldn't let any obstacles prevent them from helping others. They should use every resource, bit of energy, skill, and talent to make a difference because we were created to help others –
not sit back and watch the world pass by around us.”
The high school sophomore and her family recently returned from a four-week trip to India to visit relatives. During the family’s trip, she said they saw poverty throughout the country. “We are blessed to live in the United States, where we are isolated from the abject poverty that exists in developing countries,” said Cheryl, who aspires to start her own charity.

“After all this, I want to host other events to continue to raise money and awareness about Food For The Poor’s mission,” said Cheryl.
To support Cheryl’s philanthropic initiative please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code "SC# 86604" to accurately route your donation.
Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.