Ashe's 26th Annual Benefit for Children

Friday April 24, 2009

By Lily Williams, The Bulletin

Printed on:  4/29/09

On Friday, April 24, 2009, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education (Ashe) held its 26th Annual Benefit For Children at its Ridge Avenue Education Center.

A highlight of the Benefit, which drew around 750 guests, was a performance by The Bacon Brothers.

Attendees also had the chance to mix and mingle with such VIPs as former tennis star Mary Carillo, legendary tennis journalist and commentator Bud Collins, Governor Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter.

The event, which was co-chaired by Nicole A. Cashman, Justin B. Wineburgh and Ken and Barbara Toscano, also offered guests plenty of opportunities to support Ashe through spectacular silent and live auctions. 

Mayor Nutter kicked off the live auction by selling a week at Villa Sassella in Tuscany (sold twice for a total of $19,000).  The Bacon Brothers sold a Fender guitar they'd autographed for $2,500 (won by Chase Utley's wife, Jennifer).  And Gov. Rendell auctioned a week at his Ocean City, N.J.,  beach house for  $4,200.

Ashe is a national model for imaginative, public youth tennis and educational enrichment programs. Building upon the legacy of Arthur Ashe, Ashe engages young people aged 4 to 18 from under-resourced communities in cutting-edge tennis, education, life skills and leadership development programming.