James Blake's "Serving for a Cure" Fundraiser
On a cool, early winter evening in New York City, James Blake and his friends, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Bob and Mike Bryan (aka the Bryan Brothers) and Wyclef Jean entertained several hundred people with some tennis sets, a Fila fashion show, food by NYC chefs and a concert. The Back Office Associates “Serving for a Cure” event, a fundraiser for the
Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was a lot of entertainment for one evening, but all for a good cause.
Andy Roddick, on the mend from a knee injury, was not able to play as scheduled, but he did support the event by appearing, mingling and even providing Sam Querrey with some very humorous, on-court coaching during his set against James Blake. The temporary tennis court set up inside Pier 94 along the Hudson River was very intimate. In fact, the public address announcer frequently reminded the guests to watch out for 100+ MPH serves and forehands headed in their direction because the sides of the court were waist-level and so there was a fair amount of ducking tennis balls whizzing by! Nonetheless, everyone seemed to enjoy the tennis which was entertaining and it was great to see that Sam Querrey seems healthy again after his freak accident in Thailand a couple months ago.
The second part of the evening featured tasting stations from several well-known New York City restaurants, as well as drinks by various liquor sponsors. Singer, John Mayer, hit the dance floor briefly, but spent more time posing for photos with adoring fans than actually dancing! The evening was capped by an enthusiastic performance by Wyclef Jean, who encouraged the crowd to dance along and even invited the ladies in the audience to join him on stage!
Apparently the main sponsors, Back Office Associates and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, covered enough of the event’s expenses that all of the proceeds from ticket sales were supposed to go to the Blake Cancer Fund. The tickets for the benefit were not cheap, starting at $150 ($75 for kids) up to $500, but the money raised will hopefully continue the fight against cancer which now touches one in four Americans. Well done James and friends…
Andy Roddick, on the mend from a knee injury, was not able to play as scheduled, but he did support the event by appearing, mingling and even providing Sam Querrey with some very humorous, on-court coaching during his set against James Blake. The temporary tennis court set up inside Pier 94 along the Hudson River was very intimate. In fact, the public address announcer frequently reminded the guests to watch out for 100+ MPH serves and forehands headed in their direction because the sides of the court were waist-level and so there was a fair amount of ducking tennis balls whizzing by! Nonetheless, everyone seemed to enjoy the tennis which was entertaining and it was great to see that Sam Querrey seems healthy again after his freak accident in Thailand a couple months ago.
The second part of the evening featured tasting stations from several well-known New York City restaurants, as well as drinks by various liquor sponsors. Singer, John Mayer, hit the dance floor briefly, but spent more time posing for photos with adoring fans than actually dancing! The evening was capped by an enthusiastic performance by Wyclef Jean, who encouraged the crowd to dance along and even invited the ladies in the audience to join him on stage!
Apparently the main sponsors, Back Office Associates and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, covered enough of the event’s expenses that all of the proceeds from ticket sales were supposed to go to the Blake Cancer Fund. The tickets for the benefit were not cheap, starting at $150 ($75 for kids) up to $500, but the money raised will hopefully continue the fight against cancer which now touches one in four Americans. Well done James and friends…
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