DANBURY, CT - Danbury Grassroots Tennis is teaching the city's youth about the game of tennis and much more, but it's also in the learning business.
Since its inception in 2006, DGT has evolved into an organization that improves several aspects of a child's life, including confidence-building, physical fitness, nutrition and education.
Director Lauren Dalton has quite literally visited with and talked to difference-makers from across the country to exchange ideas and best practices.
The results have been outstanding for the USTA New England-affiliated Community Tennis Association.
"In our programs, we encourage kids to always be on the move, to be physically active and we teach them about proper nutrition," Dalton said. "We're fortunate enough to have great volunteers and partners in the area to help with that."
DGT arranges for children in its programs - who must be Danbury residents between the ages of 8-18 and maintain at least a "C" average in school - to be part of tennis programming and tutoring sessions.
Students visit DGT's new office Monday through Thursday, where they are tutored by local high school and college students and volunteers from the community. After they complete their homework, DGT students are required to read for a half-hour and work on extra math.
"I've spent a lot of time researching successful charter schools and other institutions that face some of the same challenges that we find here in Danbury," Dalton said. "We want to create an atmosphere of accountability and expectation that will allow the kids to succeed."
Dalton recently traveled with DGT president Carl Bailey to Las Vegas to visit the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy.
"These kids need to know that they can and will go to college," Dalton said, noting that DGT students will begin to tour area colleges to see what college life entails.
While DGT's tennis component has produced some talented players, Dalton and the organization's volunteers have used other sports to challenge the children.
"During the spring and summer seasons, we'll spend about a half-hour a day doing some other form of physical activity, in addition to tennis," Dalton said. "In Danbury, we're fighting against the childhood obesity epidemic, so to keep them engaged in physical activity is vitally important."
As a requirement, each student involved in DGT programming was required to train for and complete a road race last fall - a YMCA 1-mile "fun run" that took place on Sept. 11.