giving back Serving up Opportunities

Teenage quartet breaks the net, making tennis accessible to all.

By Naya Seth

Photo courtesy of Overhead Opportunities

Juniors at Brophy College

Prep—Logan Phillips, Arin Gopakumar, Ryan Zerbib, and Naren Gudavalli—have not only been acing tennis courts for approximately seven years but also acing community service with their nonprofit organization, Overhead Opportunities, founded about a year and a half ago. Their mission is to make tennis available to everybody!

With personal understanding of the high expenses involved in tennis lessons and equipment, they aimed to serve prospective tennis players who found these costs prohibitive. The boys garnered support from several organizations, including The Loyola Academy, Xavier College Prep, the Challenge Foundation, and USTA Southwest, and secured a $1,000 grant from USTA for equipment.

Currently, their goals are to expand throughout Arizona and to new states, including California, Texas, and New York. Additionally, when they go to college, they hope to start a few subchapters specific to the area that they are in. Even though all of the co-founders work together to make Overhead Opportunities possible, they each have important jobs within the organization.

Logan is the CEO, and he oversees the organization to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Naren is the CAO, and he supervises all of the clinics, monitoring who will be attending and the volunteer coaches. Arin is the COO, and he handles reaching out to other organizations and schools to help Overhead Opportunities grow. Ryan is the CFO, and he manages all of the finances, including applying for grants and creating a GoFundMe.

Youth Clinics Serving Up Skills And Fun

Held most Fridays from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Xavier College Prep—who kindly donated their courts—these clinics run for most of the year, excluding summer, and welcome players for single or multiple sessions. Registration and coaching application forms are available on their website: overheadopportunities.org. If you have had some tennis experience before and want to help out with coaching, you can submit a form, also available through their website. The teenagers love tennis because it is a fast-paced sport, and if you win a match, it feels good because you know it is due to the effort that you put into it. They wanted to share this love of tennis with others.

Throughout their time coaching, the co-founders have developed several favorite memories.

Making An Impact

One day, an email from the Challenge Foundation reported kids trying to play tennis during recess. This, alongside other cherished memories like a rewarding Halloween event and securing weekly court time at a private facility through Xavier, affirmed the tangible impact of their initiative.

Lend A Hand

Support their mission by donating to their GoFundMe, enabling them to purchase more equipment for their students, at gofundme.com/f/ overhead-opportunities.

In their journey, these young men learned the power of perseverance and witnessed the profound impact of their efforts on others’ lives. Their advice to other young changemakers: Put yourself out there. Numerous people would love to assist you, and relentless pursuit can lead you to unimaginable heights.

Naya Seth, 13 years old, loves to read and write. She is a member of National Junior Honor Society and National Charity League and enjoys participating in various philanthropy activities.

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By Sondra Barr

Photos courtesy of the Cunnius family

In North Phoenix, a young boy named Carter Cunnius is turning his past challenges into a mission of joy for other kids. This 8-year-old, with twinkling eyes and an unstoppable spirit, is the mastermind behind a heartwarming toy drive that is making waves in the community and brightening the days of children at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Carter's journey began in a way none of us would want. When he was only 4 years old, his doctors shared the news that he had a type of cancer known as leukemia. His days became filled with hospital visits, treatments, and many moments that required extraordinary bravery. After a challenging battle of two and a half years, Carter triumphantly emerged, being declared cancer-free one year ago. However, his experience in the hospital wasn’t forgotten. During one particularly tough week, when an infection kept him bedridden, Carter experienced the boredom and sadness that can come with long hospital stays. A small box of LEGOs, which became a source of creativity and escape, sparked an idea in his thoughtful mind.

“My mom and I built it and took it apart so many times. I was so sad, and my mom kept making up games for us to play. I still had a lot of unopened gifts at home and told my mom that I wanted to donate them so no kid would feel the way I did during that week,” says Carter. That memory led to the birth of Carter’s toy drive, which kicked off in September 2020. With an objective to ensure no child felt the loneliness and boredom he once did, Carter, along with the support of his community, started collecting toys. His endeavor began to fill trucks and cars with toys destined for children in the hospital.

Carter, now a third grader at Deer Valley Unified School District’s (DVUSD) Norterra Canyon School, is inspiring not just adults, but his class- mates too. Together, they've been gathering toys by the hundreds, establishing a tower that symbolizes hope, kindness, and youthful solidarity. This year marks the third of Carter’s initiative, and it’s not just about collecting toys, but also about remembering and honoring friends made along the way. Last year’s drive paid tribute to a young friend, Junior, who sadly lost his fight with cancer.

In Carter’s words, the best part about organizing the toy drive each year is “knowing kids will feel loved and it will take their mind off of what they’re going through.” And his top pick for a universal toy? LEGOs, as he believes “everyone loves LEGOs!”

His mom, Marie Cunnius, stands proudly by his side, her perspective on life profoundly altered by their journey. She emphasizes the importance of valuing what truly matters in life and encourages others to always accept help when it is genuinely offered. Marie believes that no family should navigate the challenging journey of childhood cancer alone.

Readers, if Carter's story inspires you, there's a way for you to be part of this inspiring initiative! Carter’s cause will be back in action next September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, inviting everyone to participate through Norterra Canyon School or DVUSD.

Young Carter, despite his experiences, turned pain into purpose and is a living testament to how acts of kindness, big or small, can radiate through a community, lifting spirits and making a real difference. His story reminds us all that no matter how tough the journey, there's always a way to bring a little sunshine into the lives of others.

Remember, even the smallest hands can move mountains and the youngest hearts can show immense kindness. Kudos to Carter and every young person out there making a difference, one small act of kindness at a time.