Hundreds will flock to the Sports Core in Kohler tomorrow (December 6th) to play pickleball for a cause.
The 2nd annual Pick-El Ball Tournament, hosted by Link Pickleball, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will look to raise money and mental health awareness while supporting suicide prevention.
The first Pick-El Ball Tournament was organized last year in honor of Elli Zahn Westfall, who lost her life to suicide 11 years ago.
Owner of Link Pickleball, close friend of Elli, and tournament organizer Lilly Schroeder tells us, “We have about 30 teams playing this year, so about 60 players, but anticipate lots of people coming through. We’ll have raffle baskets; you have a silent auction going on. It’s open to everyone, you don’t have to be playing in the tournament to come and enjoy and help support the organization.”
That organization she mentioned will be Mental Health America Lakeshore, with proceeds raised at the event directly supporting the work they do.
She also told us why she and the planning committee chose Mental Health America Lakeshore as the tournament’s beneficiary.
“We picked Mental Health America of the Lakeshore because it’s local to us and because of all of the programming that they do in Sheboygan County,” said Schroeder. “They really give back to the community, they have a lot of support groups, and they do a lot of training and education, which I think is super important for knowledge sake, for our community.”
Lilly Schroeder (left) and Elli Westfall (right)
As someone who knew Elli since she was a child, Schroeder also took the time to tell us about who she was as a person as they prepare to celebrate her life once again tomorrow.
“She was a rock star friend, sister, and daughter,” she recalled. “She and I had a really close relationship, we knew each other since we were kids. And, you know, we don’t really know exactly what happened, and that’s still kind of what’s hard today.”
For millions of Americans like Elli, dealing with mental health issues, they are often suffering in silence, which makes supporting resources such as Mental Health America and the truly lifesaving work they do that much more important.
To that point, last year’s tournament was considered a massive success, and Schroeder says she and the organizers are keeping the bar high when setting a fundraising goal.
“Last year, we raised $20,000, which we were thrilled by. Our goal was $10,000, so that’s still our goal this year,” Schroeder said with excitement. “Last year we doubled it, which we were beyond thrilled by. It was a really big donation size for Mental Health America Lakeshore.”
After the tournament comes to an end, the public is invited to stop by Turks & Timbers on Michigan Avenue in Sheboygan, which will be donating a portion of its proceeds throughout the entire day to Mental Health America Lakeshore as well.
More information on the 2nd annual Pick-El Ball Tournament can be found online by visiting the Facebook event page, while additional mental health resources can be found at mhalakeshore.org.
