The St. Mary’s County Tennis Association partnered with St. Mary’s College of Maryland Tennis to host the “Feast or Slammin’ 2010” charity tennis event on November 27, 2010, at the college’s Somerset Tennis Complex. Created by local resident and tennis player Jennifer Carlile, the Feast or Slammin’ featured a King-of-the-Court doubles tournament, from which all proceeds were donated to the Southern Maryland Food Bank. All told the event raised $1160, of which $700 was donated by the tournament’s participants. Event sponsors Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Henry Chiropractic each contributed $360 and $100, respectively.
Carlile was assisted in her efforts by Jason Wynn, Vice President of the St. Mary’s County Tennis Association (SMCTA) and Derek Sabedra, Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Tennis at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. “Derek and I took care of coordinating all of the tennis related stuff so that Jen could focus on the charity part,” said Wynn. “This was a great idea and is the kind of thing the SMCTA would love to do more of, and to my knowledge it’s the first tennis event of its kind in St. Mary’s,” he added.
The Feast or Slammin’ tournament was designed to accommodate up to 24 players, in order to fully utilize the college’s 6 tennis courts. A minimum entry fee of $15 per person was set, but participants were encouraged to give more if they wished, whether it be in the form of cash or canned goods. Prior to the event, Carlile solicited sponsorships from Wells Fargo and Henry Chiropractic. Wells Fargo agreed to a matching contribution equal to the minimum expected take of $360, and Henry Chiropractic gave a flat $100 donation. The tournament itself went on to raise $700 and 24 pounds of canned goods, nearly double the expected amount.
“I am still floored with how generous they were,” said Carlile of the event’s participants. “Everyone who came is so amazing and I can’t thank them enough”.
Carlile, Wynn, Sabedra, and Beverly Bishop of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage met with food bank Director Brenda DiCarlo in Hughesville on December 21st to present the checks. Sabedra presented a check for $350 on behalf of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Bishop presented a $360 check on behalf of Wells Fargo. Wynn presented a $450 check on behalf of the SMCTA,, which included the contribution made by Henry Chiropractic.
The Southern Maryland Food Bank is able to buy 8 pounds of food for every dollar they raise, which for this donation equates to over nine-thousand pounds of food. Dicarlo reported that this was enough to feed roughly 375 families.
“We wanted to hold the event earlier so that we could have the gift ready by Thanksgiving, but it was all put together kind-of last minute so we did it the weekend after,” said Sabedra. “Our plan is to make this a yearly event,” he added.
