SEATTLE — On March 5, 2017, Roger Federer, the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) World Number One, hosted a Match for Africa in San Jose, California to raise money for his philanthropic organization, the Roger Federer Foundation. The match raised more than $2.5 million for the foundation.

The match was played with fellow ATP tour player Jack Sock, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and NBC Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie. All the players participated in the match in order to raise money for Federer’s foundation.

This was the fifth round of the match series. All the previous matches Federer hosted also raised money for the foundation. At the fourth match in the series in April 2017, Federer raised $2 million and was teamed up with Bill Gates.

At the fifth round of the Match for Africa, Federer and Gates teamed up again to battle it out against new opponents, Sock and Guthrie. Federer and Gates won the match six games to three. The Federer and Gates team is now up two matches; they have not lost as a team.

The Roger Federer Foundation

“I believe in the power of people. They might only need some initial empowerment.” – Roger Federer

Federer believes in empowering children to excel at school and take control of their future. For 15 years, the Roger Federer Foundation has provided this opportunity for a good education, impacting the prospects for each child. The organization hopes to reach a million children by 2018 in Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Nolonwabo Batini, a 15-year-old girl from South Africa, eloquently stated, “I am tomorrow’s future.” Her statement became the central theme and mission of the organization. Promoting the education of every child is indicative of the successful prospects of the world’s future.

In the foundation’s served countries, access to primary education has increased; however, there are still problems with low performance in the classroom, poor attendance, high numbers of dropouts and low school completion rates. The foundation assists the already existing but insufficient support systems for children in school.

The foundation selectively chooses local organizations in the served communities for long-term partnerships. The organization does not deliver direct supplies to individuals but supports the use of local resources to access and sustain education. The organization follows this ideal because it believes this is the only way to “achieve sustainable systemic change and resultant improvement of the situation.”

Match for Africa and World Philanthropy

The CEO of the Roger Federer Foundation, Janine Handel, described the Match for Africa evenings as excellent events for the organization to raise money but also to raise awareness for the cause. She explained that many children are living in poverty and education is a necessary tool to overcome poverty.

In the development of the organization, Roger Federer enjoys learning and working with Bill Gates. Handel stated, “Bill is among the most important philanthropists in the world and Roger feels so privileged to exchange with him on an ongoing basis.” By collaborating on ideas with Bill Gates, Federer works to better the foundation and implement successful data collection techniques in the organization, mirroring The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Match for Africa was a highly promoted fundraising event to assist in funding the Roger Federer Foundation projects. In successfully promoting the education of youth in Africa, Roger combined philanthropic interests with work interests and skills to create an evening of raising money.

– Andrea Quade

Photo: Flickr