Sarandon funds pingpong at NY schools

When actress Susan Sarandon circulated through the talk show circuit several years ago, she focused on a passion other than film — pingpong.

But she was surprised to receive a letter from a teacher in North Carolina shortly afterward, sharing a story about a student who suffered from persistent migraines.

"She asked him to come in 15 minutes early and put two tables together and played pingpong," Sarandon recalled recently at SPiN, the stylish subterranean pingpong club she co-owns in Manhattan. The migraines dissipated.

"I was just so taken by a teacher that is that invested," said Sarandon. "Ping pong does relieve stress and it does focus you, so it is a great thing for kids who are unfocused and need some exercise."

Now she and her partners are at the center of a unique effort to dramatically expand opportunities to play pingpong in New York City schools.

This year, 27 new middle schools will have programs, which include new equipment and coaches. Sarandon personally donated $98,500 to fund the effort, while SPiN chipped in an additional $5,000, according to her partner Jonathan Bricklin.

The initiative has been embraced by the Department of Education, which will coordinate a middle school pingpong league this winter and subsidize up to 48 hours of coaching per school, officials plan to announce Wednesday.

The implementation has been spearheaded by the American Youth Table Tennis Organization, a nonprofit that was founded in 2001 to expand access to pingpong in New York's schools.