Centreville, Virginia, November 18, 2023 — To provide local Nepali-American youth a place to relieve stress, burn energy, and be in community, PKP Tender Hearts Foundation (“Tender Hearts”) has organized weekly use of a basketball court for a local team at Mott Community Center in Fairfax, VA.
In an effort to secure a place for a local Nepali-American youth basketball team in need of a reliable space to play basketball, Tender Hearts, a local Nepali-American culture-sharing and education organization, secured regular use of a Fairfax County Community Center basketball court.
The local basketball team, the DMV Gurkhas, had previously struggled to secure an open, well kept, and free space to ensure their young players could get together and practice their sport. With their players needing this space to burn off energy, leave their stressors behind, and do so in the company of their peers, lack of court space presented a recurring problem for the youth group.
Now, thanks to local government and community support, the team is set to utilize the quality community space on Saturday mornings to practice their skills and play games with local teams.
Prabha Bhattarai Deuja, the founder and president of Tender Hearts, arranged for use of the court by working through Fairfax County Health Services and the Director of Youth and Family Programs at the Mott Community Center in Fairfax, VA.
“We are always there for the people within our County, especially for kids in the Nepalese community,” Prabha shares.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of Nepalese living in the county. Currently, we have over 30,000 Nepalese in the DMV region, and the kids have nowhere to go to work off their stress and energy.”
Derek Greygor, Director of Youth and Family Programs at the Mott Community Center, was happy to oblige the local team in ensuring they have a court to practice on and appreciated the local advocacy to get the job done. “We are excited to have [the team] here at Mott Community Center and thank you for the work that you do.”
While Prabha’s organization acknowledges and acts on the need for quality facilities that allow kids to get exercise, she notes that this is just one small step forward in making a difference in the life of a child in her community. “Providing resources to our community is our goal, and doing what we can to help them to accomplish that goal is our mission.”
About PKP Tender Hearts Foundation:
PKP Tender Hearts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Centreville, Virginia. Their mission is to preserve Nepali culture within children in the United States to remind them where their true roots lie, spread education in Nepal tom those who do not get the opportunity to learn, and unite everyone of all ages, from the younger generation to the
elderly.
About Fairfax County Public Libraries:
The Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) promotes the well-being of individuals, families and communities by providing a variety of recreation, educational and developmental programs and services; by facilitating community engagement to identify areas of need and enhance countywide capacity for serving those needs; and by connecting residents with a continuum of county- and community-based resources that promote equity and create positive outcomes for people of all ages and abilities.
About DMV Gurkhas:
The DMV Gurkhas is an organization founded to provide DMV based Nepali-American youth an opportunity to develop
in basketball, introduce them to a better understanding of the Nepali culture, and have fun in the process.
@tenderheartsfoundation
thva.org
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