Blog BNP Paribas | The bank for a changing world » Goodwill tennis

We are tennis, and we are community-focused!

Emeline Latt — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:18:52 +0000

Launched by BNP Paribas in 2012, the “We Are Tennis du coeur” programme represents a commitment to the community. It provides hospitalised children with entertainment, and also aims to help improve and equip their living space, play areas and reception areas. Its ultimate goal is to ensure that these kids are as comfortable as possible. This community programme hopes to become an important part of every tennis tournament BNP Paribas partners with!

This year, we kicked off the programme in Limoges at the Fed Cup, held on 9 and 10 February. The children had the opportunity to meet two great players, Amélie Mauresmo and Christina Mladenovic, as well as other tennis stars. This event was closely followed by the Marseilles Open on 13, 19 and 20 February. This time, Bernard Tomic and Michael Llodra did us the honour of joining us. The two players really got into the swing of things, giving an autograph session that brought a smile to a whole slew of young faces!

Meanwhile, on the court, the kids could take in some of tennis biggest stars, from Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet, to Gilles Simon, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray.

These outstanding events were held at the Limoges University Hospital Centre and at the Timone Hospital, respectively.

The programme will continue in Bordeaux on 13 and 19 May, at the French Open in June and then at the Rennes Open in October, wrapping up with the BNP Paribas Masters in November.

Questions? Ideas? Comments? Contact Mélanie.

A Day of Tennis and Sightseeing in Mezdra

Krasimira Antimova — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:09:03 +0000

On July 16th, BNP Paribas Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Tennis Federation (BTF) organized a tennis camp for children from the Home for the Disabled in Mezdra, Bulgaria. Ilija Atanassov, the Director of Tennis Development at the BTF, gave a tennis lesson on central court to an eager audience. For the young boys and girls who took part, it was a special day – after the training they had a nice meal and a sightseeing tour around one of Bulgaria’s most interesting and famous natural wonders, the Ledenika cave.

The event, organized in cooperation with the Bulgarian Tennis Federation, is part of BNP Paribas’ program “Tennis for Everybody”, which offers underprivileged and disabled children regular tennis lessons. Both partners have increased their involvement and now conduct three events per month in four cities (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Mezdra). BNP Paribas has also purchased mini-tennis equipment for the Home for the Disabled, thus giving the children the opportunity to train more often.

A “Child’s Dream” comes true

Domitille de Chargères — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:21:14 +0000

On the occasion of the charity event held before the start of Roland Garros, BNP Paribas invited, for the 4th year in a row, around 20 children in the “Rêve d’enfance” (Childhood Dream) charity programme to attend Roland Garros on 22 May.

Founded in 2001 by students of HEC, one of France’s leading business schools, this association gives children suffering from cancer or leukaemia and in the remission stage of their illness the chance to lead a normal life outside hospital. These days, dubbed “hors des murs” (outside the walls) of hospitals, support children in the remission stage of their illness. BNP Paribas supports the charity by giving around 20 children the opportunity to attend Roland Garros.

After enjoying a picnic lunch at the place des Mousquetaires (Musketeers Square!) at Roland Garros, the children were each presented with a backpack containing a cap and an autograph book as a welcome gift. They were then given a guided tour of the stadium and watched some exhibition matches, as in previous years, between the tournament’s players.

Sana Beghidja (15):
“I am really happy to be here today. It’s a unique opportunity. We have lots of special privileges and have seen things that the general public do not get to see. We have visited the changing rooms for the ballboys and ballgirls and also this suite that is not for everyone”.

Julien Girost (12):
“I think it is a good idea to have an association like this one and I’m happy to be able to watch some matches”.

William Collin (12½):
“I think it’s great to be able to watch matches thanks to an association which has made our dreams come true. I often play tennis and my favourite player is Nadal, who I think will win this year. Go for it Nadal!”

At the end of the day, during afternoon tea, Sébastien Grosjean met with the children to sign autographs. “The aim of this day is to devote time to these young children. I have my own association that supports orphans. I love children and am a father myself, so I think it’s great to be able to give these children a bit of happiness and to spend time with them”.

Recycle Your Old Tennis Balls – “Balle Jaune,” Take II!

Lily Dionne — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:17:12 +0000

There’s nothing like the smell of new tennis balls, that feeling of peeling open a fresh can. But what happens to the old ones? You toss them without thinking twice.

Until recently, that was the only thing you could do. And the waste added up: while amateurs can play with the same balls for over a year, the pros go through a new can every 7 games! An estimated 14 million balls and 4 million plastic or metal cans per year are thrown out by players in France alone.

But the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has been trying to change that with their “Balle jaune” (or yellow ball) initiative, a ball recycling program we covered on these pages last year. With the help of partner company COVED, and the financial contribution of Fed-Ex, the FFT coordinated the collection of balls, tapping their network of over a million licensed tennis players. This year, 19 of their 36 leagues took part (up from 7 leagues last year) and 600,000 used balls were collected. They were then processed for their rubber, free of charge, by a company called Recam. The rubber collected was then converted into sports surfaces. Last year, the surfaces created were donated to rehabilitation centres for physically handicapped children.

Balle jaune is not only important because of what it is able to donate at the end; it also helps in the development of environmental sensitivity among individuals. All phases of the recycling process were accompanied by information sessions for a wide public of tennis instructors, players and managers of all ages. Let’s not forget it also pushed the envelope of recycling methods for tennis balls: Recam’s process was one that had never been done before!

Balle Jaune is a part of the “Tennis and Environment” campaign, launched in 2008 by the FTT and the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development.

BNP Paribas Masters 2009: social commitments

Isabelle Palsky — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:31:08 +0000

For the 24th consecutive year, BNP Paribas sponsored the BNP Paribas Masters from 7 to 15 November 2009 at the Palais Omnisport de Bercy in Paris.

Since 2007, BNP Paribas has been a partner of Sunday Start, the opening event of the tournament, which this year, took place on Sunday, 8 November. The Bank invited 11,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 29 to watch the two matches in the first round of the main draw. This was followed by a concert featuring the French pop group Superbus. Allocating the tickets through different channels (e.g. Students’ Offices at partner schools, organisations supported through the underprivileged neighbourhood initiative “Projet Banlieues”, and a competition on www.bnpparibas.net) ensured genuine diversity in terms of those attending.

Building on its success of the previous years, BNP Paribas continued its support of Unicef through its “Ace for Unicef” initiative: each time a player hit an ace, €10 was donated to the organisation.

In addition, the Group reserved tickets for various partner organisations:
• Fête le Mur, an association founded by Yannick Noah which aims to foster the social integration of young people through tennis
• AFEV, an association that provides educational support and mentoring
• ADIE, an organisation that supports job creation through microcredit

… in short, an event that combined the excitement of the sport with social commitments.

Tennis coaching for kids in London

Emma Roche — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:10:22 +0000

On 26th June, in Hyde Park, young tennis players competed in the ‘Will to Win – BNP Paribas‘ Tennis Challenge 2009′. The tennis courts in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park had been the venue for the free coaching for children under 12, from local state schools, during June.

Will to Win, based in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park, visited eight local schools and selected the most promising players to attend professional training sessions at centres in The Royal Parks. After three weeks of dedicated training, a team of boys and girls were selected to represent each school at the Tennis Challenge in Hyde Park.

The Will to Win scheme, which is sponsored by BNP Paribas as part of our London Community and Charity programme, provides opportunities for local kids to have fun, receive free coaching and get involved in tennis at an early age. The outreach programme means that more kids get the opportunity to play the game and build up their skills by accessing the course free of charge. For too long tennis has been inaccessible and Will to Win aims to make the first experience to the game friendly and welcoming. In total, over 200 kids have enjoyed the programme since BNP Paribas started supporting Will to Win in the summer of 2008.

Taste of Tennis

Stephen Rempala — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:17:30 +0000

BNP Paribas is the title sponsor for the 10th annual Taste of Tennis event. This event is set for Thursday, August 27th. Taste of Tennis benefits the Food Bank For New York City, which works in partnership with more than 1,000 food assistance programs throughout the five boroughs to help get food to New Yorkers at risk of going hungry. Their network of programs includes food pantries, senior centers, soup kitchens, rehabilitation centers, low-income daycare centers, after-school and summer programs, shelters and youth services.

Taste of Tennis is a star-studded culinary event which teams top chefs and tennis stars. Guests will have the chance to taste dishes made by world class chefs while mingling with their favourite tennis stars. This year’s line-up includes former US Open Champion Andy Roddick, former Australian Open finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, BNP Paribas Open winner, Vera Zvonareva and tennis legend, Billie Jean King along with acclaimed chefs such as Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar & Grill and sports personalities including ESPN’s Hannah Storm, who will serve as emcee.

Michele Sicard, Head of Corporate Communications for BNP Paribas in North America added, “We’re delighted to be the title sponsor of the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis for the second consecutive year. This event furthers BNP Paribas’ commitment to tennis, which is one of the longest in the sport’s history. It also enables us to give back to the community in New York.”

From L'Aquila to Roland Garros… in video

Romain Di Candido — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:58:14 +0000

On the 26th of May 2009, a whole day at the Roland Garros tennis tournament was organized for 12 children of employees and clients of BNP Paribas from L’Aquila, the Italian town which was badly affected by the violent earthquake in April.

Watch the video and discover the unforgettable day the children experienced: a one on one with some famous players, the center-court matches, and the Tenniseum guided visit among other things.

Tennis weekend for everybody in Sofia

Krasimira Antimova — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:16:01 +0000

A tennis training hour for disadvantaged children, part of BNP Paribas’ program “Tennis for everybody” took place on June 7th in Sofia. Handicapped children from Mezdra enjoyed a training lesson in tennis during the annual tournament for the BNP Paribas Bulgaria Cup for doubles (amateurs).

The event took place on June 6th and 7th at the Diplomatic Club “Gloria Palace,” Sofia. The traditional tournament was organized during the finals of the French Open Tennis Championship ‘Roland Garros’, which main sponsor is BNP Paribas. The semi finalist and the finalists were awarded with medals and prizes handmade by the handicapped children from Mezdra. A lot of fun and emotions, as well as the direct broadcasting of Roland Garros men’s final during a cocktail on Sunday, were offered to everyone.

The program “Tennis for everybody” is an initiative of BNP Paribas and consists of educational and social tennis programs. The program intendeds to implement regular tennis lessons for disadvantaged children, as well as for handicapped children.