Its mission is educating about, supporting, and promoting healthy relationships, better access to mental health, and crisis-intervention services.
TENNIS WILL BE THE FOCUS of a special event that carries a message that goes beyond the game, and a nod to the legacy of the person at its core.
The second annual “It’s All About Love” Tennis Charity Event will be Saturday, July 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Twos Athletic Club in Toledo.
Its mission is educating about, supporting, and promoting healthy relationships, better access to mental health, and crisis-intervention services.
The event raises funds for and awareness of the JPO Foundation, which was founded in memory of James Patrick O’Connell, a tennis star at St. Francis de Sales High School and the University of Dayton who died by suicide in February 2021 in the midst of an unhealthy relationship.
“The idea for doing this came from a friend after James passed away,” said Kevin O’Connell, James’s father. O’Connell said the friend, Scott Perelman, tennis coach at the University of Florida, “said James had a great life, and he’d like to see if we could do something on an annual basis for the tennis community. It struck me as a really good idea.”
In response, the O’Connell family and those close to James founded the JPO Foundation and set to work on organizing the tennis event. “Last year was the first one,” O’Connell said. “We were thrilled with the response.”
James was more than a tennis star. O’Connell said James graduated from the University of Dayton with a communications degree and quickly landed a job in sales with a national company that transferred him to several cities as he climbed the corporate ladder. Because of James’s easygoing nature and athleticism, “he was the last guy you would think would be corporate,” the proud father said.
James then joined a Texas-based cash-management company called Tidel, where he continued to do well. On a bittersweet note, James was so well thought of there that about 10 Tidel executives will attend the event, and Tidel is the event’s main sponsor, O’Connell said.
“He was in Toledo when this happened,” O’Connell said of that day in February. “We knew there was a problem, but we couldn’t get into crisis mental health care.”
O’Connell added, “We wished we could have gotten him more help than was available. That’s why we’re trying to improve access to crisis mental health care.”
All proceeds from “It’s All About Love” go to, O’Connell explained, “local nonprofits that specialize in mental health for young adults who are in unhealthy relationships and helping them identify problems and overcome them.”
He added, “Last year we distributed $30,000 to nonprofits, and should top that this year.” One of the beneficiaries was the University of Toledo’s psychiatric department, which, O’Connell said, has been studying the effect of unhealthy relationships—the core of the JPO Foundation’s mission. Another beneficiary was ProMedica’s program called Teen PEP—Peers Educating Peers for positive social change, including mental health awareness and identifying healthy relationships.
The bulk of the proceeds come from event sponsors—like Tidel. The rest is from fees adults pay—$75 per person or $125 per couple—for the morning tennis clinic, tennis exhibitions, lunch, and a t-shirt. By the way, kids are free and are the focus of the afternoon in lessons, clinics, and activities. “There’ll be about 30 local pros and coaches who will give adult clinics in the morning, and free kids clinics in the afternoon,” O’Connell said.
Among the presenters will be two brothers famous in the professional tennis world, Luke and Murphy Jensen of Midland, Michigan. The Jensens—friends of the event-suggesting Scott Perelman—won the 1993 French Open men’s double championship. “They were here last year,” O’Connell said. “Murphy gave a heartwarming speech to adults and a more-subdued one to the kids about providing and having access to mental health care.”
The day’s schedule: 8:30 a.m.—Registration 8:45 a.m.—On-court stretch 9:00-11:15 a.m.—Adult clinics 11:30 a.m.—Exhibition 12:00-4:00 p.m.—Community partner information tables 1:00 p.m.—Lunch 1:30 p.m.—Kid’s registration 2:00-3:00 p.m.—5- to 10-year-olds tennis clinics, 11+-year-olds kid’s activities 3:00-4:00 p.m.—11+-year-olds tennis clinics, 5- to 10-year-olds kid’s activities O’Connell said the event reflects who James was. “He always cared for people. He always volunteered in the summer to give lessons to inner-city kids, to introduce the game to kids who wouldn’t normally be exposed to tennis. As his father, I look at it as a living legacy of his memory.”
He added, “If we can help prevent one family from going through this nightmare, it’s worth it.”
To register or for more information, visit www.jpo.foundation/events.html.
Dennis Bova is a freelance writer and editor. ✲
