Bringing the flavour of a global sport to children with special needs, Barclays today organised a tennis clinic alongside the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships 2010, led by two tennis stars.
The clinic, organised by Clark Francis Tennis, saw the top doubles pair, Alexandra Dulgheru and Alisa Kleybanova engaging with 50 children from the Dubai Center for Special Needs and the Future Centre for Special Needs, based in Abu Dhabi, both non-profit organisations that cater to the educational needs of children with special needs.
The initiative reflects Barclays strong focus towards corporate responsibility. It also integrates the company’s sports sponsorship plan with its commitment to the community.
Speaking about Barclays community initiatives, Zeeshan Saleem, Interim Managing Director, Barclays Corporate, UAE, said, “An area that continues to be of interest to Barclays is the development of children with special needs. The tennis clinic complements our work in this area, which helps to draw the children into our communities through sports.”
Barclays recently announced the ‘Setting Special Standards’ programme with the Future Centre for Special Needs, to introduce the Direct Instruction Special Review Assessment (SRA) Curriculum for the first time in the UAE. The initiative is aimed at widening the range of teaching models available to children with special needs in the country.
Explaining the benefits of the tennis clinic to children, Dr. Mowfaq M.A. Mustafa, Director, Future Centre for Special Needs, said, “We are pleased to be associated with Barclays for the tennis clinic, which enables children with special needs to benefit from the experience of players at the top of their game. Communication, social and motor skills are an integral part of the overall development of these children. The clinic provides all of this, while keeping the activity interesting and engaging.”
Students at the clinic were delighted to learn and participate in an exciting game of tennis, while being entertained by the tournament’s mascot – Ace and Annette. Barclays employees also volunteered to make the clinic a success.
As part of its community investment programme, Barclays distributed tickets to schools, NGOs and charities for the afternoon sessions of the tournament.
