- The Tallahassee Pickleball Association and Make-A-Wish teamed up on Saturday for a very special reason.
- The Make-A-Wish goal for the fundraiser was to raise $3,000 but tripled the goal with $9,000 raised.
- Watch the video above to see the reaction from families, the Make-A-Wish foundation, and the Tallahassee Pickleball Association.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT.
“We go through certain things do not know the outcome. To be thankful for the outcome that we received, the love and the care that we got from the community, our family, our friends…”
This is the Mitchell family.
They know firsthand the difference the Make-A-Wish Foundation can make.
“Iris was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, which is a type of Brain cancer…”
Iris Mitchell is 12 years old and was diagnosed in February of 2017…
Her wish came true in 2020 when she was able to see and play in the snow.
Wishes like hers are possible in part thanks to a sport that’s growing in popularity.
I’m talking about Pickleball.
Make A Wish Central and Northwest Florida held a Pickleball tournament on Saturday to move their mission forward.
“Make A Wish asked us to help them do a tournament for the Make-A-Wish kids and we jumped at the chance…”
Cathy Bedsole is Vice President of the Tallahassee Pickleball Association.
“Everybody’s been very good about getting on the court and playing. It gone great. Anytime we can help a charity, want to do that.”
Make-A-Wish says In the U.S. and its territories, a wish is granted every 34 minutes. They also say for more than 40 years now, the Make-A-Wish has been granting life-changing wishes for children and families.
Tournaments like this one help raise money to make those wishes possible.
“We are look for opportunities to gain support from individuals, businesses; and the Pickleball tournament is great for that.”
Kathleen Hampton and Terry Hill are with The Make-A-Wish Northwest region… They tell me the feeling has been amazing.
“It’s an amazing feeling, it’s amazing to hit that milestone… The more important piece to that is being able to grant two wishes to very deserving children which will be life-changing to those individuals.”
That’s something the Mitchell family is also happy about…
“Any way you can raise awareness from a different avenue to grab in the youth, grab into young folks… that’s a great way for us, this is fun.”
