5th annual 'Rally for the Kids' big success

LEXINGTON -- With outside weather looking like spring, 73 local youngsters took to the courts Saturday for the fifth annual Richland County Children Services "Rally for the Kids" tennis event.

Granted, no one can count on great weather in mid February. So the event was again indoors at the Lakewood Racquet Club, hosted by club pro Ron Schaub, his staff and members of his boys and girls tennis teams at Lexington High School.

The event was free to any child in a family now being assisted by the agency, including children living with relatives through the Kinship Navigator program.

Each child in attendance received an event t-shirt and a new tennis racquet that they took home at the end of the day. Each child also enjoyed a pizza lunch after their session ended.

"It was another great event, thanks to Coach Schaub, his staff and his high school players," said Carl Hunnell, the agency's communications supervisor. "We cannot thank Coach Schaub and the folks at the Lakewood Racquet Club enough for allowing us to again use their wonderful facility.

"We simply could not do this event without their tremendous assistance," Hunnell said.

The event was divided into two 90-minute sessions. Each child was taught some fundamentals of tennis and then engaged in skills competitions.

"The focus of the day is just to have fun," Hunnell said. "Coach Schaub and his staff and players do a great job of teaching the game of tennis. But they also encourage the youngsters to just simply have fun."

The agency is now planning for its events in April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, including the annual 24-hour Swim/Bike/Run.

"We do the 24-hour event as a way to educate the public to the fact our agency is open for their calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. There is a never a need to wait until the morning if someone suspects a child is being abused or neglected or in danger," Hunnell said.

Click here for photo gallery from the event.