CommUnity Crisis Services fights hunger with pickleball tournament fundraiser

The organization estimates they raised roughly $3,600 to use for its services and food bank.

Lance Peterson, News Reporter

April 20, 2026

Teams compete during CommUnity Crisis Services Food Pantry’s ‘Rally and Rise for Hunger’ pickleball tournament at Greenstate Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, IA, on Sunday, April 19. The fundraiser raised money to support the food pantry, who provides produce, bakery, deli, dairy, health, baby, hygiene and non-perishable items to residents of Johnson County. (Ethan McLaughlin/The Daily Iowan)

Iowa City’s CommUnity Crisis Services, a volunteer-driven organization that specializes in emotional, financial, and food support, held a pickleball tournament fundraiser with about 30 players that raised roughly $3,600 for the nonprofit’s food bank.

The event, titled Rally & Rise For Hunger, was hosted in Coralville at the GreenState Family Fieldhouse on Sunday, April 19.

Sara Barth, the CommUnity Crisis Services’ event and fundraising manager, said the money raised for the event is from the donations and the sponsorships they acquired when planning the event.

The event’s sponsors included Scheels, Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, Selkirk, Pickle Palace, and Micky’s Irish Pub.

Beth Wetmore, the manager at Micky’s Irish Pub, said the pub likes to be involved with local fundraisers so they will often sponsor charities to support the community, such as the pickleball fundraiser.

“Food shortage is a huge issue and we want to support the community and feed the people as best as we can,” Wetmore said.

According to Feeding America, a network of food banks, food pantries, and meal programs in the U.S., one out of every eight Iowans face hunger and one out of every six children in Iowa face hunger.

Barth said the idea to have pickleball be the activity of the fundraiser stemmed from the sport’s growing popularity.

“We just know pickleball is really hot right now and we thought it’d be a good opportunity to reach some folks,” Barth said.

One of the doubles at the fundraiser, University of Iowa graduate student Nicole Holdgrafer and Joseph Vasseur, said they have been getting into pickleball recently and found this event while looking for tournaments to participate in.

“We noticed this one was a fundraiser giving back to the community and so we thought it’d be a good idea to come here,” Holdgrafer said. “Giving money to get food back into the community and support people was something that we do feel passionate about.”

Heading into the tournament, the duo said they didn’t have much experience other than playing together in the backyard or at the local park. However, after winning their first match by a score of 11-3, Vasseur said he thought they would go far in the tournament.

“I bet we’ll finish top five, that’s my guess,” Vasseur said.

Holdgrafer and Vasseur finished second in the tournament.

The winners of the tournament were Iowa City residents Natalie Hanson and Sarah Altenhofen who typically play for fun at Mercer Park.

Hanson, who volunteers at the food bank with Altenhofen, heard about the fundraiser and knew she wanted to participate.

“When we saw that they were doing a fundraiser with pickleball, it was kind of a no-brainer, like we want to do that,” Hanson said.

Hanson said she was shocked they won the tournament, but was happy they could help raise money for the food bank and CommUnity Crisis Services.

With the turnout they received, Barth said she would want to see this become a tradition.

“I think it’s a good start to a tournament,” Barth said. “I’d love to do it annually.”