Rally for Roofs pickleball tournament returns, aims to boost Habitat funding

Holston Habitat for Humanity’s Rally for Roofs returned with a bigger footprint and a bigger purpose, stretching across Johnson City, Kingsport and Elizabethton to turn a pickleball weekend into a regional housing fundraiser. The second-year event again carried the feel of a Tri-Cities circuit rather than a single-club tournament, with play linked to Memorial Park Community Center in Johnson City, Kingsport courts and E-Town Pickleball in Elizabethton.

That wider reach mattered because the event was built on real numbers, not just good intentions. The inaugural Rally for Roofs raised more than $15,000, and last year’s tournament drew more than 250 participants, giving this return a clear benchmark for both turnout and fundraising. Holston Habitat also marked 40 years of service in 2025, adding extra weight to a tournament that now sits inside a longer-running effort to support affordable housing and homeownership across Sullivan, Washington and Carter counties in Tennessee, along with Bristol, Virginia.

Jane Wasem, Holston Habitat’s director of development, said the group was thrilled to see the tournament return and described Rally for Roofs as “a simple but powerful way for the community to rally together so more neighbors can have a safe, stable place to call home.” That line captured the event’s larger pitch: pickleball as a vehicle for roofs, repairs and long-term stability, not just weekend competition.

The cause is immediate. Holston Habitat’s 2025 Gratitude Report said 59 families across the Tri-Cities region received help through critical home repairs, Hurricane Helene disaster recovery repairs and new affordable homes. That mix of services shows why a fundraiser like Rally for Roofs lands with local players. It is helping underwrite construction and repair work that already touches families across the region.

Eastman Credit Union returned as presenting sponsor, and president and CEO Kelly Price said the organization was proud to support the effort. Holston Habitat paired that backing with Eastman Recreation, underscoring how the tournament has become a partnership between nonprofit leadership, corporate support and a sport that keeps growing because it welcomes a wide range of players. Tournament listings included novice, intermediate, advanced and 50-plus divisions, matching Laura Kelly’s explanation that pickleball was chosen because organizers wanted a community event with broad appeal.

For Holston Habitat, the payoff was practical: more players, more venues, more visibility and more money moving toward homes. For the Tri-Cities pickleball scene, Rally for Roofs became a reminder that a local tournament can carry a regional cause.