Fort Collins pickleball fundraiser supports school dental care for kids

Pickleball at The Picklr Fort Collins did more than fill courts on Saturday, April 18. Salud Family Health’s inaugural PicklePalooza turned round-robin play into a fundraiser for Project Smile, the school-based dental program that serves children in Poudre School District.

The event was held at The Picklr Fort Collins at Jessup Farms, 1841 Jessup Drive #100, and Salud said each session was built around 10 teams of 7 players. The format kept play moving with continuous action, plus prizes and raffles, making the tournament feel less like a bracket grind and more like a community drop-in with a purpose.

That purpose was clear. Project Smile provides specialty dental care services and treatment for children in the district through Salud dental providers and partnering community dentists. The program says it screens more than 1,200 schoolchildren each year, and about 25% need immediate significant dental care while about 75% need cleanings and sealants. For kids already struggling to get care, that kind of early intervention can keep a small cavity from becoming a missed-school problem.

The health case for the fundraiser is straightforward. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says poor oral health can negatively affect a child’s ability to learn, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said school-based oral health programs matter most for children who are at higher risk for cavities and less likely to receive private dental care. In practical terms, the tournament was not just about building a stronger pickleball calendar in Fort Collins. It was about helping keep students in class and out of emergency dental situations.

Project Smile has local roots dating to 2006 in Fort Collins, when it grew out of a partnership between the North Fort Collins Business Association and Irish Elementary School. Since then, the program has expanded its reach and says it has also aimed to serve more than 3,500 students in PSD schools in the upcoming school year. That makes PicklePalooza less of a one-off social event and more of a funding model for a program already embedded in the community’s school-health network.

The support list gives the fundraiser added weight. Big O Tires served as lead sponsor, while the Fort Collins Eyeopeners Kiwanis Club backed the effort as a longtime partner. The Kiwanis club traces its history back to April 3, 1973, and its official charter on May 22, 1973, with 27 members. Paired with The Picklr Fort Collins, a 27,000-square-foot facility and the first Picklr location built from the ground up, the event showed how a purpose-built pickleball venue can carry a public-health mission as well as a recreational one.