Australian Tennis legends Wally Masur, John Fitzgerald, and Alicia Molik are in Canberra as part of the P2 Invitational, a large local tennis fundraiser being held on Thursday 1 March at the Canberra Tennis Centre.
The charity tennis event will this year support Menslink, which has been changing the lives of young men and their families for over 15 years. Menslink supports young men through encouraging them to speak up and get help, providing intensive short-term counselling, and providing long term mentoring support.
The P2 Invitational is a charity tennis tournament which attracts corporate teams to raise funds for local charities. Now in its eighth year, prior to this year the event has raised over $800,000 for local Canberra charities. The event is aiming to bring its total funds raised to over $1,000,000 in 2018.
Masur said it was great to be part of the event and highlighted the important contribution Menslink makes to the local Canberra community.
“You realise that boys are vulnerable, some families there are cycles of violence that they can’t escape. The idea that they have someone to talk to that they realise they are not alone, the ability to connect with outside people and counsellors, its just massive. You think about that moment in time and how that helps a kid, and how that resonates through the rest of his life and the contribution he makes to the community going forward, I think its huge”.
Fitzgerald is excited to be back in Canberra to be participate in his sixth event.
“It seems to get bigger and better every year. I take my hat off to Mark Peatey and his group [P2 Advisory]. This day has evolved and has supported a lot of local charities over the year. The tennis connection is a big thing, we love the sport, we are bias towards the sport, and that tennis can connect into it, it’s a real bonus.
CEO of Menslink, Martin Fisk said the funds raised would be transformational to the organsiation.
“We are going to be able to use the funds to extend our services down to 10-12 year old young guys. We’ve noticed that problems are appearing earlier in life. This money from the P2 Invitational is going to be able to address that need in the Canberra community and build all of our programs”.
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