A POSITIVE START TO 2024 FOR THE ELENA BALTACHA FOUNDATION

News and Stories by Nino Severino

The 2023 ‘Come Play’ events, sponsored by Morgan Stanley has created a very powerful legacy, part of this legacy is the large network of schools we are building in the London area. One very special relationship is with Turnham Academy Primary school, under the auspice of Chris, Head of PE. I have now attended the school on numerous occasions, the last visit was to deliver a whole day of tennis to every class in the school, it was an amazing experience, and was a reflection of the great pupil development support the school provides.

I believe that collaborations are key within the charitable sector, this is why we are building a significant relationship with a charity called ‘Shoes To Share’. This collaboration will provide hundreds of pupils with shoes across our London network. I have a very long standing relationship with the family who run this foundation, headed by its founder Ellis Short V. My relationship with Ellis is a very special one, after I lost Elena in 2014, I began to coach and support Ellis, who was then 12 years old. It’s safe to say, that my time with Ellis and his family helped me through this very challenging period. I am extremely proud of what Ellis is achieving with his foundation, and we look forward to working very closely with him over the coming years.

Here is some background on Ellis and why ‘Shoes To Share’ was launched.

As a junior tennis player, Ellis Short V has needed many pairs of shoes to get him through the challenges of an international playing schedule. Growing fast, he would often grow out of these shoes even before he was able to wear them, leaving him with pairs of unused tennis shoes.

Not wanting to see these shoes go to waste, Ellis and his family decided it would be far better to donate his unused tennis and running shoes to others who need them. Motivated by a sense of wanting to help others, particularly those that have helped him, the idea for Shoes To Share was born.

Ellis’ competition schedule now takes him to many different parts of the world, some of which are more disadvantaged than others. Yet with each visit to a different tournament has come a consistent sense of welcoming and hospitality. Donating the shoes, tennis balls and equipment has become a way of saying thank you to every venue that Ellis visits.

Understanding the power of helping others through sport, his mother Eve describes Ellis as ‘a real kid wanting to help real people’ and Shoes To Share as something that allows Ellis to express his sense of ‘purpose, kindness and empathy’.

Since May 2019, what began as a simple gesture of thanks has begun to gather real momentum, as more and more sponsored athletes, professional players, coaches and organisations show their willingness to get involved.

I would like to share a story off the ‘Shoes to Share’ website, it is truly amazing, and shows exactly why Ellis’s foundation is so important.

Ben’s Story:

Ben Nteza Ssenoga is a 13-year-old Ugandan school boy and of one of the many people who have gotten in touch with us over the last couple of years to ask for our help. Ben asked if we might be able to share some of our shoes and sports equipment to a programme he set up during Covid called ‘Kids closer to sport Uganda’. Ben’s inspirational story and what he has achieved we believe is worth sharing, as Ben exemplifies ShoesToShare’s own ethos for helping others first. Ben saw the need for children of all ages to be able to participate and enjoy sports in some way, which is why we felt compelled to help.

Ben has introduced tennis in an area of Uganda where children had never been given the chance to experience the sport before. Kyegegwa District is in a remote rural part of western Uganda. A mixture of agricultural farming villages and refugee camps. Ben saw tennis being played on the TV whilst in his local store and instantly decided he wanted to learn to play. He bought an old racquet and a couple of balls and played against a wall to hone his skills. From there other local children got interested and Ben began helping them play.

Word and interest spread, and Ben initially strung up a makeshift court on borrowed local land and formed his own tennis/sports programme, naming it ‘Kids Closer To Sport Uganda’. He has subsequently become a role model to his local community, and spurred on by our equipment donations, he decided to help introduce tennis to a wider group of local children within the refugee camps and villages in his region. To enable this he decided that he would need to build his own tennis court to make playing more accessible. He proceeded to first locate and negotiate with a local farmer to buy some land and raised the money to purchase the small plot. Bringing together some friends, he began the long process of carving out the court from the hillside, hand digging and levelling the court using picks shovels and wheelbarrows.

Word and interest spread, and Ben initially strung up a makeshift court on borrowed local land and formed his own tennis/sports programme, naming it ‘Kids Closer To Sport Uganda’. He has subsequently become a role model to his local community, and spurred on by our equipment donations, he decided to help introduce tennis to a wider group of local children within the refugee camps and villages in his region. To enable this he decided that he would need to build his own tennis court to make playing more accessible. He proceeded to first locate and negotiate with a local farmer to buy some land and raised the money to purchase the small plot. Bringing together some friends, he began the long process of carving out the court from the hillside, hand digging and levelling the court using picks shovels and wheelbarrows.

What started out as a vision and a dream has now turned out to be a masterpiece example of hard work, commitment and a very healthy dose of community spirit.