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Jill Lawrence is the USTA Junior Volunteer of the Year
Hauppauge High School (HHS) senior Jill Lawrence, ran an event called "Tennis Serves the Community" at HHS. She ran the event inn her freshman and sophomore year. In her Junior year, she ran the event at her Tennis Club in Syosset. She also ran bake sales, and raffles. Through her hard work, she raised close to $4,000 for Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI) in Smithtown. DDI helps kids with autism. DDI decided to make her the Grand Marshal for their Family Picnic and Fun Walk. This event honoring Ms. Lawrence took place on September 24, 2017. She was featured on Channel 1 and Channel 12 as well as in Newsday.
Jill has done all this work on her own, without much help. She is being honored by the USTA of Long Island as their Junior Volunteer of the Year. This event will take place on May 2, 2018.
Ms. Lawrence will be playing tennis in college. She attended a tennis showcase where she was heavily recruited by several schools. Jill finally accepted an offer by Methodist University in North Carolina. She signed her letter of intent on October of 2017. She will be attending their PTM (Professional Tennis Management) Program and will also minor in business. She plays tennis exclusively. She attends the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. She also plays both USTA tournaments and UTR events. Jill is a member of the National Honor Society, Art Honor Society, and the French Honor Society. She is the founder of "Tennis Serves the Community".
She has held round robin tournaments and bake sales. She wanted to make more money for DDI, so she wrote to tennis stars. She received autographed pictures from Nadal, Federer and Billie Jean King which she raffled off. She cares a great deal about DDI and the tremendous work they do for their kids. She is also currently volunteering with the Hauppauge Library, which she has done since 6th grade. She will also volunteer her time with a friend's Eagle Scout project.