Andy & Blanche - Supporters and Role Models (Part 2)

The passion and pride in Blanche’s voice about hers, Andy’s, and the foundations work to give hope to so many helpless children made me wish I was down there right along side her. As many of us would if we could, we’d spend all of our time with these children, doing everything we can to make sure their unfortunate past doesn’t determine their future. Our donations though speak for themselves and Blanche is there making sure it all gets used where it is most needed.

“The answer is not the shelter, the answer is prevention,” Blanche said. Once the endowment is reached, the funds will then go to preventing the abandonment and neglect of these children. Through many new partnerships to help support the foundation beyond the charity events, this goal is closer to being reached every day.

“Babolat came to us and said ‘we want to help support and give awareness for the foundation’,” continued Blanche, “and so the idea of attaching a blue No Compromise wristband to every Babolat string package came to fruition.” The USTA also purchases a large amount of the wristbands to sell at stands on their tournament’s grounds, and even be given out as door prizes when you first enter the tournament, as they did on Arthur Ashe Day at the US Open.

“I’m very proud of Andy and how he’s teaching by example, making people aware that so many children need help, and that we can do something about it,” Blanche told me about children and teens being “Little Andy’s”. There were two boys who chose to raise funds for the ARFoundation as their Bar Mitzvah projects, one presented Andy with a check for over $300 at his Boca Tennis Extravaganza and another from New Jersey who raised over $2,000 through selling the wristbands and generous donations. Good word spreads beyond actually speaking in this case.

She’s a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a president. At the end of the day, though, she and her son are also heroes to hundreds of neglected and abused children. That is what keeps Blanch Roddick going… endlessly helping these children today so they will always have a tomorrow.