Southwest DeKalb High’s tennis team wins off the court with community service to help feed those in need

By Mark Brock

DEKALB COUNTY, GA— Southwest DeKalb High School’s tennis team served up an ace as 18 of its members and two coaches partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank(ACFB) to help get food out to those in need.

Coaches Daelyn Turner and Lance Davenport joined the team as they sorted and packed food items at the ACFB warehouse, located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The group also packed food into care boxes for distribution  to supplemental food pantries, mobile markets and metro-area families and residents in need.

The ACFB works with nearly 700 community-based non-profits in its mission to fight hunger by engaging, educating and empowering the community. It is also a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger relief charity, which itself is made up of more than 200 food banks around the United States.

The team’s involvement in this project and other community service efforts are part of its Coach-mandated Annual Day(s) of Service and Volunteerism started by Davenport during the 2009-10 school year. Under the initiative, team members are required to actively engage in such endeavors, which connect them to and place them in service of their greater community.

These acts of service strengthen society as a whole and influence’s student athletes in the direction of continuing service work beyond high school into their adult lives. This tradition is being continued by Coach Taylor as she takes the reigns as the head coach of the Southwest DeKalb tennis program.

The teams entered the season having graduated 18 players over the past two years. The roster is dominated by underclassmen as they vie to be one of the Region 6-4A teams to earn a state tournament berth.

Mark Brock is the Athletics Specialist for Media Relations for the DeKalb County School District.