On June 19, The Seven Lakes Racquetclub is hosting a day-long fundraiser on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association.
If all goes according to plan, every court in the club will be occupied by players, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Teams will rotate in and out, but no court will be left empty.
The fun will continue off the courts, with food and ice cream trucks, live music and even a silent auction.
“Even if you aren’t going to play tennis or pickleball, still come. We’re trying to make it a community wide event,” explained Katie Carpenter, co-owner of the Seven Lakes Racquet Club.
Carpenter lost her own mother to Alzheimer’s in 2017, and has wanted to host something like this for some time. The event is part of what the Alzheimer’s Association calls the “The Longest Day.” Every summer solstice, people host various fundraisers in resistance to “the darkness of Alzheimers.” Many of the events involve doing an activity all day long. Unfortunately, the solstice coincides with Father’s Day this year, so Carpenter decided to bump the event forward to the 19th.
“I thought, instead of just me doing something this year, how can I get more people engaged?” she explained. “We have this tennis facility, what are the chances we can keep people on the courts from morning to night?”
The event is already shaping up. Members of The Seven Lakes Racquet Club have been especially helpful, notes Carpenter. Some have hunted down auction items, sought out donations, found sponsorships and more.
Local businesses have the opportunity to sponsor the fundraiser on three different levels: game ($150), set ($300), match ($500). Carpenter decided to connect with primarily the Seven Lakes businesses, and already, several have agreed to be “match” sponsors.
Tennis court reservations are $100 for two hours, and pickleball courts are $50 for an hour. All proceeds go directly to a local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The reason I’m doing this is that I feel like people with Alzheimer’s get forgotten,” said Carpenter. “The thought is, well, they don’t remember me, so why would I visit them?
“I wouldn’t change any amount of time I was able to spend with my mom, I was fortunate enough that I could care for her. But it’s really tough. I never want the person with Alzheimer’s, or the people taking care of them, to be forgotten.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring the event or booking a court can call the Seven Lakes Racquet Club at (910) 400-5224, or email 7lakesracquetclub@gmail.com.
Contact Mary Moore at mmoore@thepilot.com
