United Way to host Pickleball for a Purpose

HAYS COUNTY — United Way of Hays & Caldwell Counties (UWHCC) is holding a unique fundraiser this year surrounded by one popular sport: pickleball.

UWHCC is encouraging members of the public to pick up their paddle and head to the courts for the Pickleball for a Purpose event — which will be held beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Dreamland in Dripping Springs — to help raise money to fund 14 critical programs that help more than 50,000 residents each year.

“This is our 40th year in Hays County. We were founded in 1983 by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to get together and figure out, kind of how all United Ways start, what are the problems and how do we address them here in our community,” said Michelle Harper, president/CEO. “And so over the last 40 years, that's what we've been doing. We are governed by a local board of directors and that board of directors, along with other community members who sit on our community allocations team, determine what organizations we're going to partner with each year to look at and address the most critical problems in our community.”

Some of the agencies that UWHCC partners with to provide programs for local residents include: Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Texas, CASA of Central Texas, Combined Community Action — Meals on Wheels, Hays County Early Childhood Education – Any Baby Can, GENaustin, Greater San Marcos Youth Council, Hays Caldwell Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Hays County Food Bank, Salvation Army, San Marcos Housing Authority Resident Services and San Marcos Youth Service Bureau.

It also funds the Change a Child's Story and Born Learning internal programs.

The Pickleball for a Purpose tournament will consist of six divisions: Men's Beginner, Men's Intermediate, Women's Beginner, Women's Intermediate, Mixed Beginner and Mixed Intermediate. Registration is $60 for individuals, $100 for teams and $25 for an additional division. All players will receive breakfast, a boxed lunch, sports drinks/water and player goodie bags.

“Pickleball is a huge craze right now; everyone seems to be jumping on the train. And there's not a lot of charity pickleball tournaments around here. Everyone's having golf tournaments, we had a golf tournament, and I said, ‘Let's just see what we can do with a pickleball tournament,’” Harper said. “We're really excited about it. We already have some people signed up from as far away as Horseshoe Bay. It's not just people here in Hays County; it's open to anyone who wants to support United Way. And even if you've never played pickleball, grab a partner and come play.”

Harper hopes that this tournament will raise more awareness about UWHCC, while also encouraging the public to choose the organization as their “charity of choice” in the county.

“United Way is unique in that we fund and help all of those organizations. Whether or not you are really passionate about one thing or another, United Way probably is helping in that area. So, we would love to be the nonprofit of choice. And we're working by kind of expanding our donor base to do that. United Way traditionally had workplace giving campaigns where we go in, talk to employees [and] they donate through their payroll,” she explained. “Technology has changed that, where more and more employers are opening up their campaigns and more people have a choice as to where they can donate and how they can donate. That's one of the reasons we're doing the pickleball tournament to kind of just expand who we can reach to let them know about what United Way does and give them the option to to give back.”

To register for Pickleball for a Purpose, visit www.uwhcc.betterworld.org/events/pickleball-for-a-purpose. For information about sponsorships or to ask questions, email Harper at [email protected].