The Emory women's tennis team traveled to Washington Park in Atlanta on Friday evening to take part in the Volley Against Violence Program.

Members of the team, along with representatives from the Atlanta Police Department, interacted with youths from the area, which included teaching of various tennis skills.

Volley Against Violence (VAV) is a Community/Police Engagement initiative designed to utilize tennis to bring youth and police officers together for physical activity, informal mentoring, relationship building, and the seamless delivery of life-skills curriculum.

Originally created in Boston by Sportsmen's Tennis and Enrichment Center (Sportsmen's) and the Boston Police Department, VAV has grown tremendously since its conception in 2009. Youth participants learn to work as a team, to set and achieve goals, to respect one another, to respect police officers and to resolve conflicts as well as learn the importance of making an effort and trying new things. 

If you are interested in volunteering for the Volley Against Violence Atlanta program, please visit  the Signup Genius page.