Harrison Street Serves brings education, tennis together in free summer program

PADUCAH — Recreation in western Kentucky is a big deal, especially during summer, and one program for middle school students aims to bring education and recreation together.

Harrison Street Serves, a tennis program in McCracken County, is in its second year and was designed to give kids an outlet to play tennis and improve educational outcomes.

Last year, the event paired coding and tennis, and this year’s concentration is on art.

The program is for kids in sixth through eighth grades, with kids transitioning from fifth to sixth allowed to participate.

Jane Gamble helped get the program funded, and said it’s about pairing education and tennis, all following the legacy of Arthur Ashe.

“It’s a national program and it was actually started by Arthur Ashe, who is one of our most famous African American tennis players,” Gamble said. “His true legacy is the forming national junior tennis leagues and his goal was to combine tennis and education.”

The programs, offered free of charge, are scheduled to last throughout June, with future programs to be determined by funding.

“We are an umbrella organization under the Paducah Tennis Association and we always need funds,” Gamble said. “We charge no fees for this; this is purely guided by Arthur Ashe’s legacy and its principals. And so we want the kids on the tennis court and we want them to excel in the classroom.”

Any organization or private individuals who wish to support the program should contact the Paducah Tennis Association.

Individuals interested in signing up should visit the same Facebook page, or print and fill out the form attached to this article and drop it off at the Harrison Street Missionary Baptist Church or email it back to janekgamble@gmail.com .