Home Blue Ridge Rotary raises $25K for literacy through pickleball tournament
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Blue Ridge Rotary raises $25K for literacy through pickleball tournament

Chris Graham
pickleball fundraiser
Photo: Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club

A local Rotary Club raised $25,000 for a literacy group with an indoor pickleball tournament.

Popular sport; never played.

Maybe one day.

“Our club is committed to service above self,” said Kay Lanahan, president of Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club, which raised the $25K for Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle through its cvilleSMASH tournament.

“Literacy impacts every aspect of someone’s life, and we’re excited to help create a future full of better jobs and stronger families in our community,” Lanahan said.

The Rotary Club tourney had 64 players and 24 sponsors.

They didn’t tell me who the winners were; I hope for their sake they got shirts to wear around town, so they can show off.

Literacy Volunteers offers free tutoring to more than 400 area adults in reading, writing and speaking English, basic education, and U.S. citizenship.

“We’re honored to be the recipient of the Rotary tournament,” said Literacy Volunteers Executive Director Ellen Osborne. “As students take steps in their educational journey, we witness firsthand how the lives of the tutors, students, and their families change.”




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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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