Andre Agassi high-fives students during a Dec. 6, 2001, open house to mark the opening of the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in West Las Vegas. Photo by John Gurzinski.
Elton John, left, and Andre Agassi wave to the audience at the end of the 2002 Grand Slam for Children concert at the MGM Grand. The annual event has raised $42 million for Agassi's charitable foundation. Photo by The Associated Press.
It's a typical Las Vegas summer morning -- sunny and getting hot. At the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club, things are heating up on the two tennis courts as a couple of youngsters practice doubles.
Not far away, preparations continue for the school year at the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy. Teachers are meeting, construction on campus expansion goes on, classrooms are being readied.
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Agassi, at the top of Sports Illustrated's list this year of most charitable athletes, is equally proud and amazed at what his foundations has managed to accomplish in such a short time. Since getting his charity rolling in 1993, he and business manager Perry Rogers have raised $42 million for various charitable endeavors.
From Child Haven, the Greater Las Vegas After-School All-Stars (formerly the Inner City Games) to the I Have A Dream Foundation and the Las Vegas Philharmonic Youth Concert Series, Agassi has displayed unfailing eagerness to lend a financial hand in his hometown.
"I believe in the human spirit," Agassi said. "My foundation was started to help kids."
At the top of the list are the charter school and the Boys and Girls Club. Both have been phenomenal successes, and Agassi doesn't want to take too much credit. He would just as soon not have his name adorning the two buildings that are about a mile apart in West Las Vegas.
"I don't like drawing attention to myself that way," said Agassi, who has separated his commercial life from his philanthropic life. "But I understand why it's there, so I accept it."
Agassi's name remains a drawing card on and off the court. Since its inception in 1995, his annual Grand Slam For Children benefit concert has raised $42 million. The 10th event will be Oct. 1 at the MGM Grand. Scheduled to appear are Celine Dion, Duran Duran, Earth, Wind and Fire and Mary J. Blige, along with comedian George Lopez. In 2003, the benefit raised a record $12.6 million.
"I never thought it would grow to this," Agassi said. "For me, it's the most important thing after my family."
As he prepared to launch his foundation, Agassi said his intention was to do something tennis-related, such as stage a tournament. Rogers contacted fundraising specialist Julie Walters in 1993 and told her of the tournament idea. Walters suggested something bigger than a tennis event and proposed an event that would generate millions.
"I was blown away," Rogers said. "She proposed a concert, and we had no expertise in putting on a concert. I thought to myself, 'No way.'
"But Julie told us to trust her, and all Andre needed to do was make a few phone calls. He calls Elton John and Elton said, 'When do you need me?' and the rest, as the say, is history."
The millions raised have fueled the goals Agassi and Rogers shared in trying to leave something permanent for the community. One was a place where kids could learn; the other a place where they could have fun.
The charter school, located at West Lake Mead Boulevard and J Street, opened in 2001 and has achieved a level of excellence at the county, state and national levels.
Its 500 students perform above the national average on their test scores. The U.S. Department of Education has listed Agassi Prep as a national model charter school.
"There's a lot of hope here," said Brian Thomas, interim executive director of Agassi Prep. "Think about the number of lives he'll touch over the next 25 years."
The school, which encompasses kindergarten to ninth grade, plans to expand to grades 10-12 in the next couple of years. But that doesn't mean enrollment will expand. To maintain the quality of education, enrollment is capped at 500, and only 130 new students are admitted annually. The students are selected via a random lottery so no amount of money or influence can get a child in. The school is attractive because class sizes are small with a maximum of 25 students per class.
"We get 500-600 applicants a year," Thomas said. "It's tough to look some of these parents in the eye when you have to tell them their child didn't get in. But for those who get in, it's literally like winning the lottery."
Of this year's 500 students at Agassi Prep, nearly 90 percent come from the four zip codes within a half-mile radius of the school. It has had an uplifting impact on the community.
Thomas said the school is looked upon as a source of pride in the neighborhood.
The same can be said of the Boys and Girls Club. There's no evidence of graffiti or vandalism at either place.
Rogers said Agassi Prep and the Boys and Girls Club, which opened in Agassi's name in 1997 (it was previously known as the A.D. Guy Boys and Girls Club), were deliberately placed in a disadvantaged neighborhood.
"We could have put the school and the club anywhere," Rogers said. "But Andre wanted to put it where it would do the most people the most good."
For the kids who utilize both facilities, they have found a sanctuary from the day-in, day-out battles they face. Agassi once spoke about the tennis court being strewn with land mines. But for the youth of West Las Vegas, much of where they live is littered with land mines in the form of drugs, gang violence and other inner-city woes.
But those who have the opportunity to use the facilities seem to benefit.
Asia Muhammad didn't know what a tennis racket was a few years ago. But one day she put a racket in her hands at the Boys and Girls Club. Today, she is the No. 1 tennis player in Nevada among girls 14 to 18 and is ranked No. 16 nationally 14 and under.
"She has a chance to be pretty special," said Tim Blenkiron, who coaches the Boys and Girls Club tennis team. "She's 5 feet 9 and extremely athletic. If she doesn't go pro, she'll pretty much have her pick of colleges to play on scholarship."
Blenkiron, who played at UNLV and teamed with Luke Smith to win the NCAA men's doubles title in 1997, said the Boys and Girls Club is more than about giving kids a chance to learn tennis.
"He's making a difference in the lives of these kids every day," Blenkiron said of Agassi's commitment to the club, which has about 400 West Las Vegas youths at the facility on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue. "These kids have a place to go every day, and it's not just for tennis or to play basketball. There's a library room, computers. It's a place to learn as well as have fun."
Agassi also contributes $250,000 annually so the tennis players and the club's traveling basketball program have their expenses covered.
"Basically, the philosophy is, 'If the kids qualify, they go,' " Blenkiron said. "I've never been questioned about money when we went to send our kids somewhere to compete."
