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2011 Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic raises $800,000 The 2011 Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic raised $800,000 over the course of the two day event, bringing the total of money raised to support children and families in South Florida since the event was first held in 1989 to more than $20 million. "These are very challenging economic times and I am so proud this event was able to raise $800,000 this year," said event host Chris Evert. "Our success is a credit to the sponsors, the fans and the players. It is so amazing how everyone continues to rally behind our event and is so committed to helping the people of South Florida." In tennis action Sunday at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, Hall of Famer John McEnroe made his first appearance at the event and teamed with Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan to defeat Evert and actor Christian Slater, 6-4. He returned later in the day to partner with comedian Jon Lovitz and post a 6-4 victory over his younger brother Patrick McEnroe and actor Scott Foley. Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd joined Evert to post a 6-3 win over musician David Cook and Jan-Michael Gambill. Doubles specialist and a long-time supporter of the Evert event, Murphy Jensen and actor Alan Thicke defeated Rennae Stubbs, a former No. 1 doubles player in the world and newsman Stone Phillips, 6-5 in the day’s opening match. To find out more about the 2012 Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic and Black Tie Gala, visit www.chrisevert.org or call 561-394-2400. To find out how you can contribute directly to the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, click here. Annual Gala Raises $150,000 The annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic Gala raised almost $150,000 Saturday evening with a packed house in attendance at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Among the top auction items were a $12,500 bid for four round-trip tickets on Swiss International Air Lines, ticket packages for Wimbledon and the US Open went for $10,000 each and a private tennis session with Anna Kournikova brought in $8,000. Results from Play on Sunday, Nov. 13 Murphy Jensen and Alan Thicke def. Rennae Stubbs and Stone Philips 6-5 Chris Evert and Kevin McKidd def. Jan-Michael Gambill and David Cook 6-3 John McEnroe and Jeffrey Donovan def. Chris Evert and Christian Slater 6-4 John McEnroe and Jon Lovitz def. Patrick McEnroe and Scott Foley 6-4 Two Deserving Women Awarded Vitas Gerulaitis College Scholarships The future looks brighter for Linda Pierre of Apopka and Justina Lawrence of Palm Beach Gardens thanks to a two-year scholarship the women recently received from Chris Evert Charities and the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida. Each year, the Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Scholarship is awarded to deserving women looking to improve their lives by pursuing educational goals The awards ceremony took place center court, Saturday, November 12, during the Chris Event Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic in Delray Beach. Linda Pierre had a difficult and unstable childhood, due largely to her mother’s struggle with mental illness. While she was still in high school, her father became ill and moved back to Haiti, leaving Linda homeless and struggling to support herself. Though it was very difficult, Linda completed high school and dreamt of one day becoming a surgeon. After becoming a young mother, Linda had to abandon her college education to care for her son, Andrew, who is now 8. She later married, and in March of this year she gave birth to her second son, Samuel. While she loves her children very much, Linda began to realize that she needed help to learn how to be the kind of mother that she herself never had. In April of this year, she enrolled in the Ounce of Prevention Fund’s Healthy Families program. Healthy Families is an evidence-based home visiting program proven to prevent child abuse and neglect in high risk families by teaching parents how to provide the safe, stimulating and nurturing experiences their children need for healthy growth and development. Since entering the program, Linda has learned how to create a loving bond with her two young boys and has also made great progress in improving her family’s stability and self-sufficiency. Currently working as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Linda will use her scholarship to pursuing her Licensed Practical Nursing degree at Lincoln Technical Institute in order to become a surgical nurse. Currently a high school senior, seventeen-year-old Justina Lawrence has already overcome more challenges than many of us will ever face. After suffering from the neglect of her drug addicted mother and spending three years in foster care, Justina was adopted into a home where she was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her adoptive father. After finding the courage to tell someone the truth about her adoptive father, Justina finally found a home and the help she needed at Place of Hope. Justina moved into Place of Hope’s faith-based family-style residential foster care program in August of last year. Thanks to support from the Ounce of Prevention Fund, children living at Place of Hope benefit from tutoring, mentoring, and life-skills training, as well as opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities including organized sports and creative arts. While living at Place of Hope, Justina has continued to pursue her love of tennis. She finished second in the state finals for high school tennis singles this year. She also enjoys working part time at Chic-fil-A in Palm Beach Gardens and volunteering with KAPTA, the Kids and Police Tennis Association. Justina will graduate from high school in May and is looking forward to attending college, where she hopes to continue playing competitive tennis while studying either pre-law or orthodontics. She is grateful for this opportunity to better herself and hopes to become a role model for others who are struggling to overcome challenges in their lives Chris Evert Charities and The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida work together to improve the development and life outcomes of children, preserve and strengthen families and promote healthy drug-free behavior in society. Scholarship Winner, Justina Lawrence with Chris Evert Local Ounce of Prevention Fund programs may submit applications for women. Download the application here.