Tennis / coronavirus
Bristol tennis player Katie Swan helps coronavirus fight in new Kansas home
Bristol-born tennis player Katie Swan and her family are helping people battle the coronavirus crisis from their home in Kansas.
Swan, 21, who used to live in Abbots Leigh, is the current British number seven ranked player.
She went to school at the Downs Prep School in Wraxall and Bristol Grammar School, before moving to the USA.
Swan’s mother Nicki is currently coordinating food packages for 70 families from the garage of their home in Wichita.
“When all of this started with the coronavirus, she (Nicki) wanted to be able to support those families with their groceries, which they couldn’t get,” Swan told the Telegraph.
“Either because they were too scared to go out. Or because, having too many kids, they cannot leave them at the house.”
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Swan’s parents have been going to a local Costco every morning to buy everything in bulk for other people with money raised through the charity Big Brother, Big Sister.
Swan has been helping her mum organise the care packages and get them ready for delivery, with children from her brother’s school picking up their piles and delivering them across the town.
“Some of these families have loads of kids,” Swan added. “We have supported a family of 15 who all live in one house.
“But it’s a mixture of ages. There’s a 98-year-old man who cannot go to the grocery store himself.
“He loves my mum’s homemade banoffee pie. It’s apparently the only thing he will eat. So, he just eats that. We are trying to bring the British classic to the States!”
Main photo: Katie Swan
Read more: Katie Swan flying flag for GB at Wimbledon
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