In the past few years, pickleball has taken the nation by storm. New courts have been built as well as older sports infrastructure being repurposed into courts to facilitate the growing demand for the game. Active Re-Entry looks to capitalize on this craze while raising funds to help those in need with their pickleball tourney/fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 13, and Saturday, Sept. 14.
Castle Country Radio sat down with Terri Yelonek and Derek Jensen from Active Re-Entry to talk about the fundraiser, as well as some needs for the organization.
Starting our conversation, Jensen explained the sign-up process for the tournament,” the best way for them to sign up is to call or text Rochelle at 435-650-6943 … They can also call our office at 637-4950. We’ve also canvassed the area with our flyers. They have a Venmo QR code, and if you need more information, you can also contact the office and talk to any of us, and we can help you out with registration and sign-ups.”
The tournament will feature different classifications for different skill levels. On Friday, Sept. 13, it will be the beginners taking the courts from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The beginner group will be for all ages. On Saturday, Sept. 14, the intermediate and advanced groups will play starting at 7:30 a.m. The intermediate and advanced groups will be divided up by age, with the groups being ages eight to 20 and the other being 21 up.
Jensen also spoke excitedly about the prizes being offered to the winners,” The prizes are awesome. We have a couple of Yeti tumblers. We have an awesome Yeti cooler, gift certificates from local businesses and a whole bunch more stuff.”
Yelonek then took the time to explain what Active-Re-Entry does for the community,” Active Re-Entry is a nonprofit organization that’s been in the community serving individuals with disabilities for over 35 years now.” Yelonek continued,” The premise of Active Re-Entry is to help individuals with disabilities live as independently as possible in the home and the community of their choosing. So we provide all kinds of services to help with that, as well as equipment if needed.”
On the topic of equipment, Yelonek discussed the group’s need for walker donations,” we need durable medical equipment, specifically four-wheeled walkers with seats that are in really good condition.” Yelonek explained,” Because we have a durable medical loan bank, we take in equipment and we loan that out to people in need. So if you have that piece of equipment sitting in your basement or your garage, and it’s in good working condition, please bring it out to Active Re-Entry or give us a call and we’ll come pick it up.”
Closing out our interview, Yelonek expressed gratitude for the community,” We’re so grateful for the support of the community, and we couldn’t help the consumers that we serve, which are from ages zero to death, with skills for their independence and equipment for their independence without the support of the community.”
To stay up to date with Active Re-Entry, the organization can be found both on its website and Facebook.