Katy Perry's charity pickleball event raises funds for Firework Foundation

At Montecito Club in Santa Barbara, Katy Perry and Angela Lerche turned a pickleball tournament into a fundraiser with a clear payoff: money and momentum for Firework Foundation’s 11th Camp Firework, scheduled for next month. Perry teamed with Connor Garnett, ranked World No. 5 in the event notes, while Lerche paired with Wes Borrows of the LA Mad Drops. Perry and Garnett finished the exhibition match 11-8, but the score mattered less than the draw around it.

The third annual Light Up the Court showed why pickleball has become such a usable charity format. The court is easy to stage, the action is readable for spectators, and the field can mix celebrity names, local supporters and working pros without losing the community feel. That combination has real value for a fundraiser: it gives sponsors visibility, gives donors something fun to watch, and gives a cause like Firework Foundation a setting that feels lively instead of stiff.

Firework Foundation says it was founded in 2018 by Katy Perry and Angela Lerche to “empower children from underserved communities by igniting their inner light through the arts.” Its Camp Firework program is a sleep-away experience in nature, with kids producing songs, learning choreography, designing apparel and taking part in activities such as kayaking, archery, fishing and zip-lining. The foundation says the 2026 Light Up the Court will help support the 11th camp, which is set for next month.

The event also fits into a longer arc. Firework Foundation’s archive shows the inaugural Light Up the Court launched in October 2023, the second edition followed in 2024, and this year’s tournament became the third straight run. That kind of repetition matters in amateur pickleball, where events often disappear after the first burst of attention. Here, the format has stuck, and the organization has used that consistency to keep building beyond a single day on court.

The foundation has also pushed into year-round mentorship through its Leaders in Training program, which gives high school students monthly opportunities in film and television, fashion, music and culinary programs through partners including FIDM, LAAMP and Adidas. Firework Foundation says it celebrated its 10th Camp Firework in 2025 and highlighted Micah, one of its first campers, who received a full scholarship journey at LAAMP. With sponsors including Rock-it Cargo, EmSculpt Neo, 23&Me Research Institute, K’Lani, City National Bank, NextHealth, DeSoi and Franklin Sports, Light Up the Court has become more than a celebrity side event. It is now a repeatable fundraising model, with pickleball serving as the hook that keeps the whole thing moving.