Agassi has also found ways to touch people's lives off the court. He started the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation in 1994, at the peak of his career, to help underprivileged children. The Foundation has raised more than $ 60 million till date.
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And the sense of philanthrophy does not end at donating money or using the game as a platform for charity. Agassi regularly visits the Foundation and is actively involved in its development. From being a place where underprivileged kids were given a chance with tennis it has been transformed into a centre for education.
'It occurred to me that the greatest way to address a child's concerns isn't to stick band-aids on things,' he said. 'I wanted to get ahead of the curve, and teach them how to make the right decisions.'
The Foundation established the Boys & Girls Club in 1997, which is a 25,000 square foot facility that features an indoor basketball court, outdoor tennis courts, a computer lab, library and teen centre. It sees as many as 400 children a day in the summer and well over 2,000 during the year. The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a Las Vegas charter school for at-risk children, opened in August 2001.
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