Homeless Project Update

Last week was very productive. Thanks to the many donations of sweatshirts, dog food and bikes, we managed to bring some happiness to others in their times of need.
We gave away 5 bikes and you can’t imagine how happy the people who received them were. One of our homeless group is a former Army Ranger and he has taken on the role of fixing up not only the donated bikes, but any bike that comes in on Friday nights.
Two of our club members joined us and were a very welcome addition. If it were not for Sherry’s use of her SUV, we couldn’t have gotten all of the items out to the site. Her and Laura’s jumping in and serving food and hanging clothes made the process run smoother. One of the upsetting parts of the night was feeding 2 pregnant women and another family that included a 1 year old toddler. We will be buying small amounts of baby food, diapers, and clothes to keep on hand moving forward.

The club made the Surprise Newspaper this week with a nice article written by Laura Darrow. The story was picked up by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko and appeared in her weekly update newsletter. It just goes to show you what a group of people can do to make changes.
There is still a need for older bikes, coats, sweatshirts and pants, hats and gloves, but we are really looking for the tow behind bike trailers for kids. These are used to transport, store, and keep safe all of their personal items. If you have an unused one in your garage that your grandkids have outgrown, I know just the people who can use it.
It’s people and groups like the Grand Pickleball Club that can and do make a difference in our little part of the world and it’s been a pleasure being part of the team. We’ve come a long way in the past 3 years and there is still a long way to go

Stay Safe
Troy