20 | JULY 4 • 2024
J
N
O
n Aug. 4, Pickleball
for Friendship will
return for its second
year running.
The pickleball fundraiser,
which will be held at The Sports
Club of West Bloomfield,
will raise funds to support
Friendship Circle, a Jewish non-
profit organization that offers
programming and services for
individuals with special needs.
Event organizer and longtime
Friendship Circle volunteer
Jennifer Lovy raised $17,000
at last year’s debut pickleball
fundraiser. This year, her goal is
to up that number to $20,000.
Proceeds will be donated
in full to Friendship Circle’s
Walk4Friendship, an annual
5K walk that raises funds and
community awareness for the
organization.
“Because Friendship Circle
has been such an amazing
resource to our family, I wanted
to do something to give back
to the organization in a mean-
ingful way,
” Lovy, 53, of West
Bloomfield and an Adat Shalom
Synagogue member, says.
Lovy’s son, Evan, 18, has
autism and participates in
Friendship Circle program-
ming. When Evan was 3 years
old, the Lovys attended their
first Walk4Friendship. Now, the
Lovy family is getting ready to
embark on their 16th annual
walk, and Jennifer Lovy hopes
Pickleball for Friendship can
help Friendship Circle reach its
$1 million goal.
“By doing a pickleball fund-
raiser, not only am I helping
to raise critical funds for the
organization, but I’m also help-
ing spread the word about what
Friendship Circle does for the
community,
” she says. “This
includes sharing its mission
with pickleball players that
may not be familiar with what
Friendship Circle does.
”
UPPING THE ANTE
Last year’s sold-out event saw
50 players and 30 spectators.
Lovy hopes for an even bigger
year. The Sunday morning
fundraiser will allow pickleball
fans to test their skills against
local celebrities and ranked
players for a $200 donation,
while friends and family who
simply want to cheer players on
can attend for a $40 donation.
The 2024 fundraiser’s
superstar pickleball players
include former Detroit
Red Wing Kris Draper,
former Detroit Lion Scott
Kowalkowski, local pickleball
pro Nick Meyer and U.S. Open
Gold Medalist Dee Geelhood,
among others.
There is also an online
auction with numerous prizes,
including pickleball and tennis
lessons, a sunset sail on Lake
St. Clair and the chance to
play pickleball with Draper.
Anyone can bid in the online
auction, and not just registered
pickleball players.
More than a dozen volunteers
are responsible for making sure
the event runs smoothly.
“There are a lot of moving
parts to getting an event off
the ground,
” Lovy explains.
“Last year, the response was
overwhelmingly positive. I
learned what worked and what
didn’t and made a few changes
for this year. For example, how
we had players rotate courts
to be with the featured players
got a little confusing, so we
changed things for this year.
”
TEAM EFFORT
Pickleball for Friendship is
sponsored by The Sports Club
of West Bloomfield, South
Valley Internal Medicine, Thav
Gross Attorneys and Hayman
Company.
“Dee Geelhood from The
Sports Club of West Bloomfield
helped tremendously by
connecting me with several of
the players,
” Lovy says of the
team effort. “Dee is a senior
pro pickleball player who puts
together high-level pickleball
groups. She plays regularly with
Kris Draper, who is a longtime
supporter of Friendship Circle.
”
However, all levels of
Second-annual Pickleball for Friendship
raises funds for Friendship Circle.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
Pickleball
Pickleball
for a
Good Cause
Good Cause
Evan, Jon, Jen
and Jessica Lovy
Evan Lovy and
Ari Margolis
ERIN MCCONNELL
ERIN MCCONNELL