Milwaukee pickleball classic raises funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee turned Pickleball Kingdom’s 17-court Menomonee Falls club into a fundraising stage on Sunday, June 28, using the Paddles for Potential Pickleball Classic to pull pickleball players and spectators into the same event. Presented by Deloitte, the tournament blended amateur competition with a direct pitch for mentor support, showing how pickleball has become a practical way for nonprofits to reach adults who may not show up for a conventional gala or raffle.

The format was built for broad participation. The event ran as a set-partner round robin at Pickleball Kingdom, N58 W14900 Shawn Circle, with registration set at $37.50 per player and the public invited in as spectators. Big Brothers Big Sisters said play began at 9:00 a.m., and the schedule spread across men’s and women’s divisions in the morning before mixed and lower-rated divisions later in the day. Players who arrived without a partner could be matched up through the host venue, a detail that helped keep the field open to newcomers as well as regulars.

For Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, the day carried more weight than a single tournament bracket. The agency says the Paddles for Potential Pickleball Classic is one of its five signature annual events, part of a wider effort to raise both money and awareness for mentoring relationships that support youth ages 6 to 18 facing adversity in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. The local nonprofit says more than 500 young people in the Milwaukee area are waiting to be matched with a mentor.

The numbers behind that need help explain why events like this matter. Big Brothers Big Sisters says it mentored more than 1,800 youth across Milwaukee and Waukesha counties in 2025, up more than 62% from 2022. Its 2025 annual report says former Littles are 20% more likely to attend college and earn 15% more income, while the organization’s broader messaging points to a national need, saying one in three youth in America is growing up without a sustained adult mentor.

That mix of sport, access and mission has made pickleball attractive to nonprofits looking for a different kind of fundraiser. The game draws competitive players, casual entrants and spectators into one space, and in Menomonee Falls it gave Big Brothers Big Sisters a sponsor-backed event with a lower entry price point than many traditional charity functions. The result was a fundraiser that looked and felt like a pickleball day, while still serving the agency’s core mentoring work.