As the TSF programme officially closes, evolving as it has into the Phillip & Christine Gore Family Foundation (GFF), it is important to document the Foundation’s origins and the major role TSF played in the lives of young scholarship recipients and their achievements. The following is a testimonial by Brandon Burke** (**see footnote) on his involvement with the programme.
“My father, Douglas M. Burke, stressed my talent for tennis, gave me the ability to be more than a tennis player. Tennis was not just a marvellous sport, but for disadvantaged children, a means to an end. He encouraged me to help young Jamaicans become involved in the sport. I listened keenly to the “success stories”: Damar, Tinesta and other underprivileged kids, for whom my father (together with TSF), had facilitated scholarships to US universities. Damar and Tinesta were talented players and first to benefit from TSF’s tennis programme, started in 2002 by my grand-aunt Christine Gore, specifically to provide opportunities for promising young players, as much to gain a tertiary education as tennis itself. I first took ‘proper’ notice of TSF and its immense impact on the lives of young Jamaicans, when I moved to Florida in 2005.
Just 13 at the time, I moved from home with two other Jamaican tennis players, Adam Vaz and Christopher Lawson. Christopher, a TSF recipient from Lucea, had only ever travelled once before. We were ‘roomies’ at the International Tennis Academy (ITA) for two years, literally living two feet apart, spending virtually every minute together. 12 years later, Chris remains one of my closest friends and in May 2017, will graduate with a Masters in Sports Management from Incarnate Ward University, Texas. The magnitude of his accomplishment cannot be understated, TSF too must take credit for Chris’ achievements. His determination to overcome what most might have initially considered insurmountable, combined with TSF’s consistent support – financially and emotionally – allowed him to change his future and his family’s. I witnessed Chris’ journey, and he showed me just what it means to take advantage of opportunities presented.
During the summer of 2012, after my second year at Brown, I played a more active role in helping TSF’s objective to assist Shantal Blackwood and Sicquena Sinclair (two more recent members), to achieve tennis scholarships to US universities. Both grew up in Mountain View and were Jamaica’s top ranked junior players at the time. Over the course of 10 years, when I first became involved, TSF had moved the girls out of their homes and into an apartment closer to their training base. Christine Gore also engineered a tennis training and online school schedule for both, placing them in competitive positions for athletic scholarships. My “job” was to do my best, helping Sicquena and Shantal to cross the final hurdle – be awarded scholarships – and learn how to thrive at university.
My work was setting up a training schedule for both girls, similar to that which I endured throughout my first two years at Brown; they trained twice daily with a ‘fitness hour’ three times a week. TSF and I continued to work with our girls in their off-court preparations for university as well. We organised mental training/management sessions, designed to develop time management and communication skills and improve their ability to handle problems and keep on track. I helped TSF to facilitate a good rapport between the girls and college coaches, worked with a videographer to craft a strategic college video for the coaches. Given both girls’ past academic circumstances and lack of tournament exposure (relative to other recruits), it was imperative to “market” them to overseas college coaches, to showcase their talent and potential.
In January 2013, Sicquena was offered a full scholarship to Shorter University, Georgia and in December 2016, Aunty Christine and I sat down with Sicquena for lunch in Jamaica, to celebrate her graduation! Shantal was granted a full scholarship to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), and will graduate in May 2017. I am privileged to have worked with both girls, and I am as proud to have played a part in their success, as I am of any of my own personal achievements. In closing, I asked some of the many beneficiaries over the years, to tell in a few words just what TSF meant to them, as the programme comes to a close. Their responses reflect how TSF changed their lives for the better”.
Sicquena Sinclair
Shorter University, Georgia
“The Scholarship Fund changed my life in more ways than I could possibly think of. It granted me the opportunity to become a well-rounded individual – going after my goals, graduating from college and much more. TSF made me not only a better tennis player, but also a better person.” – Bachelor of Arts, Sports Management, Shorter University”
Shantal Blackwood
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)
“TSF helped to mould a better and brighter future for me. Through them, I was positioned to receive a full athletic scholarship to a university in Florida. Coming from a single parent household, it became possible to dream big and live up to my potential.”
Christopher Lawson
Incarnate Ward University, Texas.
“In the middle of my tennis and high school career, I didn’t know what the outcome of my life would be because I had goals, but no plans to achieve. The moment I was introduced to The Scholarship Fund and their plans for me, was the moment that my life changed. TSF helped me set and achieve my goals; held me to a higher standard than I knew, made things possible that I could have never imagined”.
Tinesta Rowe
Fresno State University, California
“First, I give God thanks for Mrs. Gore’s vision to start TSF. I am the first person in my family to attend university. TSF assisted with school where I needed help and moved me to Florida to the International Tennis Academy to develop my tennis game. Most importantly, was the advice and knowledge from Christine Gore herself and others who came into my life via TSF”.
Camarsh Crumbie
G.C. Foster College, (Dipl. Fitness Instruction)
“It is quite difficult to assess the impact TSF has made on my life in just 2-3 sentences however, I will try! TSF has changed my life through providing further education, personal development from various counselling sessions and professional guidance for my future career path. TSF has also instilled in me a work ethic like no other and taught me how to persevere…and the list goes on and on!!!”
Shellita Haughton
Penn Foster High School, Scranton, PA
“TSF helped me to mature and think differently, through education and meeting different people. My whole outlook changed drastically and all for the better”.
**Footnote: About the author – Brandon Burke – he won the ITF Junior Tournament held in Jamaica annually; a full tennis scholarship to Brown University (although Ivy League colleges do not usually give athletic scholarships); currently pursuing a Law Degree at University of Toronto.
Brandon Burke – graduating from Brown University and flying the Jamaican flag high!
Contact:
Janice Casserly
Gore Family Foundation
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (876) 978-1520-1