Pickleballers Hold Christmas In July Donation Drive

Posted July 29th 2025

The Avalon Pickleball Committee raised $2,500 from players in its inaugural Christmas in July event. All proceeds will go toward toy drives during the holiday season. Donations were collected from pickleball players at the courts from July 11-15.

“This was the first annual Avalon Pickleball Christmas in July,” said co-organizer Jill Mauger. “At this particular time [of year], they [the charities] don’t know what toys the kids and families want, so we went for a monetary donation from the people in our pickleball community.”

Players gather every morning at the 8th Street pickleball courts in Avalon for open play. There is also a series of events held throughout the week. Such as men’s night, ladies’ night, and doubles night.

“We have a very vibrant pickleball community in Avalon,” said co-organizer Jim Garland. “We have over 2,400 members now on our message board. The people are quite generous and they did not disappoint.”

With the popularity of the sport rising and already a large, passionate community of players in Avalon, it is not surprising that there is a 10-member Avalon Pickleball Committee.

“We meet monthly,” Garland said. “Last off-season, we really had two objectives in mind: How can we advance the enjoyment of people who play pickleball? Second, to see if we could become a more active and supportive element of the community.”

The pickleball community has a great partnership with the Avalon Police Department to help with these goals. Detective Sgt. Greg Armstrong and the police force helped facilitate the Christmas in July event.

“We sat down with Greg in advance of the event and told him what we had in mind,” Garland said. “He was very enthusiastic and supportive of the idea.”

Lasting relationships and friendships are part of what makes the pickleball community so special in Avalon.

“You have so many friends,” Mauger said. “Even after the season is over, you’re still in touch with these people. Off the court and on the court, there is such a camaraderie of just enjoying each other playing the sport.”

The Avalon Pickleball community looks forward to doing more charitable work in the future.

Photo caption: Jill Mauger and Jim Garland (center) present a donation from the Avalon Pickleball Committee’s Christmas in July event to Avalon Police Chief Jeffrey Christopher and Sgt. Sean McNair.