Mia Swiecicki (left to right), Addison Super, Megan Washburn and Sophie Fred lead Haddonfield Memorial High School’s branch of Second Serve. They’ve donated 44 rackets, eight pairs of shoes and other items to underserved communities.
A new chapter of the youth-driven nonprofit Second Serve has opened at Haddonfield Memorial High School to collect and redistribute tennis equipment to underserved communities.
The branch was started by sophomore and tennis player Addison Super after she heard about the organization through her mom. She was encouraged to apply for a new chapter and serve as president, and while she and her friends faced some challenges in forming a new club, it came to be in January.
Super and her fellow board members – Mia Swiecicki, Megan Washburn and Sophie Fred – have been playing tennis for close to a decade, and they all agree it’s had a positive impact on their lives, helping them form friendships, connect deeper with family and think more deeply about strategy.
“I feel like tennis has helped me so much, but I think it’s really hard, because a lot of people just feel very intimidated or can’t get into tennis because it’s an expensive sport to get into,” said Super. ” … It’s helped me a lot. I think we all wanted to be able to share that with people who didn’t have that privilege.”
Tennis equipment can be expensive: the price for one racket can range from $50 to $300.
“The racket last a long time,” Fred noted. “I think sometimes a lot of people grow out of a racket just because they would prefer another one, so a lot of time people who are privileged enough to get more rackets will get more, and kind of just leave their other ones to dust in the basement.”
Swiecicki noted that sustainability drew her to the Second Serve Club.
“While it’s fulfilling to be able to give back to the community, I think it’s also fulfilling to know this equipment isn’t going to waste and we’re giving it a new, good home,” she observed, “whereas previously, it may have never been touched again.”
Since it began, the club has collected 44 rackets, eight pairs of shoes, five bags, gripping tape and a fair amount of clothing and water bottles. Members have worked with both the boys and girls high-school tennis teams to organize events and fundraise, and Second Serve completed its first donation earlier this month to another local high school that had reached out to the club.
Second Serve currently has four donation sites:
- Haddon Field Club, Haddonfield
- Green Valley Tennis Club, Haddonfield
- Cherry Hill Health & Racquet Club, Cherry Hill
- Riverwinds Health and Tennis Center, West Deptford.
To learn more about Second Serve, visit https://www.secondserve.org. To stay up to date with the high school’s chapter, visit https://www.instagram.com/second_serve_hmhs/.
