A nonprofit sports and recreational organization that brings the game of squash to youth on Chicago's South Side recently received a $2.5 million donation from a western suburban couple who own a downtown Chicago dental office, according to a press release.
The latest donation from Khurram and Dr. Sameera Hussain of Hinsdale to MetroSquash brings the total to more than $2.8 million that the Hussains have given to the organization, which "combines the unlikely sport of squash with academic support and college access," the press release said.
"We are extremely grateful for the Hussain family's significant and ongoing financial commitment to the valuable programs we provide at MetroSquash," David Kay, CEO of MetroSquash, said in the press release. "Year after year, Sameera and Khurram have demonstrated their support for our efforts to help Chicago youth learn the fast-paced game of squash, improve their academic performance, perform community service and succeed in college."
The MetroSquash center, which is named for the Hussain family and currently is accepting registration for its summer camp program, is located at 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue near the University of Chicago.
This Hussain's latest donation will be used to help MetroSquash to operate and expand its programs on the South Side, according to the press release.
"We believe in the benefits of competitive sports and the tremendous value that service and mentoring provide," Dr. Sameera Hussain, the founder and president of Dental Dreams, said in the press release. "We are pleased to be involved with an organization like MetroSquash that brings these important programs to young people in underserved neighborhoods."
The most recent donation was the latest from the Hussain family and Dental Dreams. In 2015, Dental Dreams donated $50,000 to MetroSquash to support its work in the community.
"It's a very significant contribution, and we’re very fortunate to have Dental Dreams and other civic groups… [that] believe in the program and believe it takes a real investment to make a difference," Kay told Illinois Business Daily at the time.
In its own blog post, Dental Dreams said it was "glad to give back to the community" and lauded MetroSquash for its efforts to bring sport and recreation to disadvantaged youth in Chicago.
"One seemingly unlikely way is to provide facilities for playing squash on the South Side," the blog post said. "Squash is a game similar to racquetball."
Played by two players as singles or four players as doubles, squash is played in a four-walled court with players striking a small hollow ball with stringed rackets, alternating until one side misses. Rooted in 16th century tennis, squash supposedly was invented in the 19th century, and over the years, it has taken on the reputation of being playing mostly by the affluent.
MetroSquash's 100 volunteers and 80 mentors serve about 400 students and families per year, a little more than half of them male and 95 percent African-American, according to its 2016-17 Annual Report.
"When we launched the MetroSquash program in 2005 with just 10 fifth-grade students, we had a limited idea of how far our students, and the program, could go," the annual report said. "What we had were curious and enthusiastic students and a clear vision to use squash as a hook to deliver high-quality, transformative academic, athletic and enrichment programming."
With its 2016-17 annual report, MetroSquash marked a milestone, as its first students began to graduate from college and enter the workforce.
"These students serve as inspirational role models for generations of MetroSquash students to follow," the annual report said. "In addition, the MetroSquash Academic & Squash Center, now two years old, serves as an anchor for the Woodlawn community, a safe space that students and families alike refer to as a 'second home.'"
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