"The Sally" benefits Westchester Youth Services

CHRISTINA KELLY
NOVEMBER 3, 2008
SCARSDALE, NEW YORK

Sally would have loved it -- the beautiful autumn day, the laughter on the paddle courts, and another year of successful fundraising for a wonderful charity.
  
“The Sally” is an annual platform tennis tournament that takes place each fall. It is held at Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarsdale to benefit The Children’s Village, Westchester County’s only shelter for homeless teens. The event is named after Sally Rogers, a long-time volunteer at The Children’s Village, an avid paddler, and a past president of Fox Meadow.

Sharon Saunders and her committee (including Barbara Underhill, Anna Filardi, Sugar Genereaux, Barbara Rau, Mary Cosgrove, and Robert and Ann Brown) did a terrific job organizing this event which drew 45 teams from all over, including Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Besides a full day of paddle, there were raffles, a silent auction, and a delicious lunch.

The winners this year were Amy Shay and Cynthia Dardis, who defeated Lisa Reach and Nancy Harwood in the finals. In the 64 consolation finals, Mary Sturgis teamed with Christine Reiss, her daughter, to beat Liz Corsini and Susan Del Rio. The 64 consolation reprieve was won by Beydoun and Rosen as they beat Celebre and Kemper (by default). In the 32 consolation, Malloy and Stanton bested Bascio and Muller. Aisenman and Birritella beat Hummers and Simone in the 32 conso reprieve (by default). And in the round of 16 consolation, Ginn and Holskin beat Andrews and Weil.

The real winners, of course, were the kids that will benefit from this tournament.  More than $30,000 was raised this year ($20,000 from sponsors and “angels,” including Federal Astoria Bank which for the past five years has been the main corporate sponsor). In total, since the inception of this event in 1981, almost $200,000 has been raised.  Proceeds this year will be directed to Westchester Youth Services, a program for county kids who are homeless, street-involved, or otherwise at risk. WYS provides a 24/7 hotline, a shelter for runaways, a van that travels the county’s most dangerous streets, and employment services.

After the long and successful day, Saunders and her crew were ready to pack up at about 6:30.  “In the feel-good moment of the day, I had to shoo Ruth Weil and Kathy Holskin out of the parking lot as they were having such a good time making a new friendship. It was only after they exhanged e-mails and phone numbers that I could convince them to go home to New Jersey and Philadelphia.”

A new friend, a beautiful day, and a great cause. Yes, Sally would have loved it.

The Sally 2008 Slideshow