BNtheMix.com/ November 7, 2017 – The 28th Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic last weekend in Delray Beach and Boca Raton raised approximately $800,000 for its ongoing campaign against drug abuse and child neglect.
The money will go toward programs funded through the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, and through the Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County. The latest fundraising totals push the 28-year total over the $24 million mark.
The weekend’s events included a Pro-Am, a Charity Gala and two days of pro-celebrity tennis. Included in the $800,000 was more than $200,000 from Saturday evening’s Charity Gala’s Silent and Live Auctions, and a special “Tennis Ball Can Challenge” that was held on Sunday afternoon.
The “Tennis Ball Challenge” had “Dr. Phil” and Luke Jensen hitting tennis “moon balls” to Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who attempted to catch them in a tennis ball can. That event netted $96,000 toward the auction. Auction items included two Wimbledon packages including four nights at the official WTA hotel, two Swiss Air round-trip “All Class” tickets to anywhere in the world, a Jamaican Adventure at Golden Eye’s Ian Fleming Villa, and two tickets to the Presidential Suite at the US Open for the men’s and women’s finals.
Chris Evert Charities also announced its Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Scholarships for young women who are parents, and a new annual Alan Thicke Memorial Scholarship beginning in 2018, awarded to parenting women who attend The Ounce/Chris Evert charities-based programs to continue their educations while financially supporting their children. Thicke was a regular attendee at the Pro-Celebrity event who passed away last December, three weeks after participating in Evert’s charity event.