Make Your Mark: Mitch Klein, Jim Miller, and Kevin Wolfer

The Kennedy Funding Invitational is a unique event that unites charity with professional tennis.

The People: Mitch Klein, Jim Miller, and Kevin Wolfer
The Cause: The Kennedy Funding Invitational

New City, NY -- Mitch Klein and Jim Miller love tennis. Five years ago, the two tennis players realized that golf was overtaking tennis in interest and popularity in Rockland County, New York, where they lived. Their dream was to bring a professional tennis tournament to Rockland County to spark interest in tennis again.

Klein and Miller wanted to create not only a tennis tournament but also a unique event that tied charity with professional tennis. Because Klein’s mother-in-law had struggled with breast cancer twice, they decided to use the tournament to raise money for breast cancer research.

The two men were able to use the game that they loved as a fund-raising tool for a cause close to their hearts. In its first year, the tournament, then called the Rockland County Open, raised $2,500 for breast cancer. A few years later, Kevin Wolfer—whose good friend passed away from breast cancer—and his family’s business, Kennedy Funding, helped grow the tournament even more, and it acquired a new name.

The Kennedy Funding Invitational is now a weekend of professional tennis where players like Pete Sampras and Justin Gimelstob come out to play for charity. Last year, the invitational raised over $500,000 from ticket sales and sponsors, which was donated to the breast care center at Englewood Hospital in memory of Wolfer’s friend Leslie Simon, as well as to Nyack Hospital for the purchase of digital mammography machines .

This year John McEnroe will be playing at the Kennedy Funding Invitational. If you would like more information on how to get tickets or become a sponsor, please visit http://thekennedyfundinginvitational.com
-- Submitted by Laurette Klein

 

From rd.com

 

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