Episode 68 Pickleball Changing the World: Susan Swern’s Mission to Africa with the Global Pickleball Federation Community Development Committee

[00:00:00] Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Christana. We're the Pickleballers Next Door. Serve. Rally. Connect. Where business meets the court. On Court Networking. Come play and network. Find out more at OnCourtNetworking.com.

[00:00:25] Hey Mike. Hey Chrisana. How you doing? Good, good. Hey, so we got a great guest back. We got Susan Swern. We had her on our podcast probably. It was right in December. Yeah. And we are now having her back. She's been away for a couple, what you went away for about a month, would you say?

[00:00:46] I was on sabbatical for six weeks, but the part of, you know, Pickleball for Good Fund and Operation Paddlelift in four countries in Africa was in the beginning of February to mid-February for three weeks. The trip was orchestrated because I was sitting on Global Pickleball Federation's Community Development Committee.

[00:01:09] And as part of that, when I knew that for my day job, I was going to be in Nairobi, Ruth Rosenquist, who is the chair of the Global Pickleball Federation CDC Committee, we were working or working together on this project Operation Paddlelift.

[00:01:31] Because as your listeners may know, that the growth of the sport internationally is huge, and there is a federation structure just like FIFA and other international sports. And we, the Operation Paddlelift was designed to raise funds so that donated starter kits of paddles, balls, and nets could be delivered to these newly formed federations around the world.

[00:01:57] So that was partly how I got connected to Collins Munene, who is Secretary General of the Confederation of African Pickleball. So that's how it all got orchestrated was through that relationship and connecting me with Collins. And he thought that the top three countries I should go to would be Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

[00:02:23] And then I also was connected to a group in Manel, South Africa. Dottie Berry, the famous Dottie Berry, had connected to me with Stephen Oblondi and his wife, Cindy Burns. And so the last part of my trip was not as focused on a federation.

[00:02:44] It was focused on a community led effort to bring Pickleball to a township three hours south of Johannesburg. Oh, wow. So how was your experience there? How much time do we have? I love it. I love it. What a great thing that you're doing, though. Yeah. And I saw I wanted to begin like, thank you so much for inviting me back, because I know how excited we all were talking about, you know, what I was doing.

[00:03:14] And I was going to be schlepping 54 paddles that were donated and 58 balls that I put in my octo backpack and the paddles were donated by Pickleheads and Good Sport Foundation and Pickle for the People here in Colorado.

[00:03:33] So, you know, I had a full a full load in trying to bridge the near gap because that's probably the biggest challenge on a continent like Africa. And so so, yes, I'm grateful to kind of continue and share some of these stories that just were transformative, you know, like, you know, people are like, oh, that's so great.

[00:03:58] You know, you did that. And oh, my God, what a wonderful trip or whatever. But, you know, I don't think people realize how it transforms you. You know, like, it's not that I it's just amazing. So I have a lot of reflections. I just don't I don't I may not know exactly where to start, but I it has catapulted my thinking.

[00:04:18] My passion has always been there for how how the sport can make impacts environmentally, economically, health and well-being, educationally, all of that. But now I have so many stories that just, you know, just make me feel even more committed than I was before going. What I love is that when we talk about bringing community together, you bring community together.

[00:04:45] I mean, you're doing something and this is what we love for our listeners to hear is what you do is it's not just every day here. There's so much more going on in pickleball than just the, you know, stuff here in town. I mean, you're taking this beyond, which is incredible. Well, I'm I'm lucky that I had that relationship again.

[00:05:02] I think one of the lessons learned that, you know, synchronicity is all around us and we all just need to say yes, because, again, this was inspired by a sabbatical knowing Collins and then also knowing Dottie Berry that helped facilitate the trip to Mayamel, South Africa. So and then all the people I mean, I'm the messenger. I'm not I'm just the messenger.

[00:05:29] And I started calling myself the pickleball envoy because that's it isn't about me per se. It's about, you know, everybody who supported this this effort and the amazing hospitality. I mean, that's one of the things I have to say is everywhere I went. I mean, these folks that are committed to bringing pickleball, especially in the countries that I obviously know more about now, is just above and beyond.

[00:05:56] Like it's transformed their lives, but their passion for channeling a lot of energy. And they hardly even some of them are all volunteer. You know, this is not a livelihood for them. And it's just extraordinary. And just I just had the loveliest time getting to know them on and off the court and laughing and having pizza together at the urban pizza in Uganda.

[00:06:22] I mean, of all places and eating the local food and just the welcoming. I just felt so welcomed. It was extraordinary. That's nice. That's so nice. And then so when you got there, how did you where did you set these the nets in place? And where did you know where to go to do all this? So that part of it, I actually was just the delivery person. I gave them after I passed through customs, which is a whole story in and of itself.

[00:06:52] I bet. Yeah. Apparently in some places you still, even if it's a donation, you still have to pay a certain fee. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Basically a customs fee. And I can't really go into all of it, but let's just say I was the last one to leave the airport because I was like, I can't pay that kind of money. But anyway, we worked it all out.

[00:07:19] And so I gave all the equipment to Collins and then Collins packed up different boxes that were then easily transported to, I think Madagascar got one.

[00:07:34] And some of the other countries that, because he, you know, he basically, the Confederation of African Pickleball helps support all the beginning and standing federations that are on the continent of Africa. So I believe four different groups got paddles and balls and there were some t-shirts that were donated.

[00:07:58] And I had had a whole bunch of those biodegradable wraps that I had gotten from Revelyn Sports. And so that a lot, you know, the handles, even if they were a little dirty, they now had tacky, tacky coverings, over grips. So, so yeah, so I, and I used a suitcase that had belonged to my parents. It's, may they rest in peace. They were world travelers. It was a humongous suitcase and it was perfectly, perfectly at 50 pounds. Wow.

[00:08:28] Wow. That's hard to do with your own clothes, let alone what you, with your pants. Oh, I know. So I had that bag and then I had the Octo big backpack that I had 58 balls in. And then I went everywhere I went, I used that backpack. It's a, it's a wonderful. And I think you've, you may have had me on your show. Yeah. Oh, I have, I have one. And I love it. Yeah. I love that. Isn't it the best? It is the best in the world. I mean, it's my favorite. It's, it's like just a bougie, like pickleball bag.

[00:08:59] When I go play pickleball, I got all these zippers and magnets and I have everything. You got a headache? I got some aspirin for you. Yeah. Well, and they got the small ones now. Oh yeah. Yes. They have the minis now. And I plan to get one because sometimes the big one is great for like overnights or if you're going to a tournament and you really need to, to load up in your sustenance and your clothing and, you know, spare socks and all the other stuff.

[00:09:24] Uh, but I do want a mini just from my local, like going to Wanaka here in, um, Lafayette, which is where I play open play mostly or relish, you know, where I play indoors and sometimes third shots. Um, and some of the other local indoor places. Nice. Me too. I'm waiting. I need to call her cause mine should be ready to go. I need to go pick it up. Right. Yeah. I've been watching on her Facebook. We need to reach out to her and talk to her since it's launched, uh, the new baby Octos there.

[00:09:52] I think there are they mini Octos or baby Octos? Uh, I think the official name, maybe mini, I would have to check that, but it's not called baby Octo. I don't think, but I could be wrong. I think the big one's called the pro and maybe this is the light. I, I, I, I would have to look at the website. But it is Octo, A O K T O, uh, sports, I think. Dot or, uh, dot com. Yep. And, um, they, they have a discount now going on.

[00:10:19] I, I saw 15% from mother's day and it comes in so many beautiful colors. Now the design, oh, I also wore the t-shirt and the t-shirt. I got so many compliments, the design because it's after the octopus and they've done an amazing job in their branding. And I just told so much respect for May and Renee and her team. They're great people. Yeah. She's awesome. Yeah. So I, uh, so what else to give us a little bit more? So what was the craziest thing that happened to you during this trip?

[00:10:49] Yep. Well, I mean, the craziest thing was, I have to say customs. Yeah. That sounds like. I wasn't going to go into it, but, uh, let's just say. I, I didn't want to be taken advantage of. And even if this was a law, I had no clue that it was going to be that much money. It still wound up being cheaper than shipping them. And of course it didn't drain on the, you know, CO2.

[00:11:18] I was already coming, but, um, let's just say sometimes Susan's New York comes out. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Yeah. And you were hitting him with a paddle? But how I calmed it is I had a whole bunch of Halloween candy that Collins asked me to bring since we were going to be visiting a lot of schools. And he thought that the kids might, might just like that as they played to give them some energy and that it was from the U.S. and all of that.

[00:11:46] And so I, um, I, to calm things down, I went and opened up the bag and came back into the customs area and just handed it out. I said, could we change the tone now? Nice. Yeah. Do some bartering. Let's just brew over chocolate. Yeah. Chocolate barter over some chocolate. Right? Yeah. How fun. So I got it. I just have to ask, how much was it going to be? Um, originally it was going to be over $800 for 54 paddles.

[00:12:16] Wow. Wow. You could almost go buy. Because how they determine it. Yeah. Oh, sorry. How they determine it was fair market value. And when I said that some of these are new, but a lot of them are old or they're, they're, they're a little blemished or what have you. And they're in very good shape. And I said, we're not reselling them. We're a nonprofit donating them to a nonprofit. And he, you know, the person looked it up of what the value, the retail value was. And that's how they were trying to calculate it.

[00:12:43] So in the end, they just said, well, then you tell us what do you think the fair market value was? So I, you know, I didn't say zero, I said $25 a paddle and that's how it added up to that. Still adds up. I mean, that's still not cheap. No, but they were donated. So, um, it did, like I said, offset the cost and, and it was delivered safely. And, uh, but yeah, little old me was schlepping that big 50 pound bag. Yeah.

[00:13:12] I can imagine you got to have pictures, right? I do. So we'll have to share those on our posts. Yeah. Um, and then let's see. I mean, I, uh, that was probably the, the, uh, that was also my first experience. I had just landed. I have never been on the continent before, let alone Nairobi. And so that was my welcome wagon.

[00:13:41] And, but the rest of the trip, it was, I mean, the highlights, I'd rather focus on that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, so in each, each country has very, very different, um, you know, cultures, languages, histories, things like that. So you can't lump all of Africa together when you visit the continent.

[00:14:06] And so my first stop was in Kenya and Collins met me at my hotel. And then we drove a few hours to his hometown. Uh, we took a pit stop cause it was his, I think it was his cousin's car. So we stopped off and I met his family, his wife and his two kids. And there was a little guy wanting to play pickleball in the middle of the street. And of course it was on a Hill. So we were chasing the ball all over the place.

[00:14:35] And it was almost like cobblestone, but they'll play anywhere. You know, they just love getting that ball and they don't care where they're playing. And, um, the little kids, you know, of course. And then we went to Nanyuki, which is where he lives. And, um, uh, and, and he, we were able to, he has a, Collins has a vision of a, of a center for sports. And so he took me to that location.

[00:15:03] We met with, uh, several, several people that are bringing pickleball to, to the country. Um, we've got a long time to talk because he and I just really click on our visions for how, how pickleball is so much more than a game. It really is a game changer for all the things that pickleball for good funds stands for. And so it was completely validating, like everything I learned on the, you know, as a,

[00:15:31] on the ground, so to speak, and on the courts just validated why pickleball for good fund and organizations like ours that are raising funds and raising equipment and offering personnel, personnel, you know, and, and coaches, why it's so necessary for the growth of the court. That's the growth of the growth of the sport that is not just for the Olympics and the competitive

[00:15:55] players, but also for recreational players and for livelihoods and for community building. So, um, so that was my, my first country. And then, uh, and, and Collins orchestrated this whole thing. I did not have to do a thing other than show up and be, uh, escorted. So my hosts in every country, including him were just phenomenal.

[00:16:21] And they just took a lot of time to think about very mindfully, where would be the best places for somebody like me who wants to be an ambassador to growing the sport on the continent, uh, to witness and to then have the stories and do the interviews. Cause we have a whole slew of interviews that we're going to make into a short kind of documentary style. And these were players, these were government officials.

[00:16:48] These were these Federation, uh, leadership in each of the countries. And so, uh, I hope, I hope that'll get done in the very near future so that people can hear it from their voices, you know, not from me as interpreting why this sport is so important to them. That would be awesome. I'd love to listen to that. That would be just, just in letting, you know, getting it out to people to hear a different perspective of the world. Definitely, definitely.

[00:17:17] Um, so I'd say one of the, one of the most moving stories, I mean, there were so many of them, but one of them was, it was in Uganda. I visited, um, a college, uh, I think it's pronounced Kakaia, um, college school. And what, what they were doing was the Federation or Zachary in Rwanda, who's head of, um, Rwandan pickleball.

[00:17:42] And he, he owns a, a, um, pickleball like club and a venue. And, um, what they're doing is they're volunteering to go into school systems as like a demonstration sport. So they bring the equipment, they bring the, the, the, uh, netting, and then they just set it up and they start showing people and whether it's young, young kids or the, the athletic, uh, staff and the print, you know, the head, the head masters, if that's what they're all

[00:18:12] called, or the directors of the, of the schools. And so one of them that we went to was in Uganda and, uh, I played, you know, played, I played in all of these places, but it was more about having them play with each other. And of course, knowing how old I was, cause I was very, very upfront that I started playing at 59 during COVID six years ago, and now I'm 67.

[00:18:37] And, um, so at the same school, there was a teacher who was dressed in her, her dress and, um, saw me play. And I'm, I'm a decent player, you know, I'm not a five Oh player, but I'm a decent player and I run for everything, even though I have bad knees. And I, um, she asked someone like how old I was. And so then they didn't know. So she comes up to me and she goes, well, how old are you?

[00:19:05] I said, you know, you're not supposed to ask women that. And she laughed and I said, well, I'm 67. I just, I'm turning 67 actually this month here while I'm in, um, while I'm in South Africa later on. And she's like, wow, you're such an inspiration. And so she wound up taking off her, her shoes. She was wearing her dress and she wasn't the gym, you know, the athletic teacher. She was a teacher of class. And she said, but I played badminton. I played tennis. I played, you know, other things.

[00:19:34] And she just started playing with me over the fence, over the net. And, uh, was just so inspired, but that was like one end of it. The other end of it was that there was a young boy that I was watching on the side and he was just playing with this very small paddle. It wasn't a real pickleball paddle. It was like this very, like four inches across at most. And he was just, you know, hitting the ball up in the air and having so much fun.

[00:20:00] And, and I went up to him and I have my Yola Perseus, you know, extension paddle. And, um, I looked at him and I said, oh, well, do you want to, you want to hit with my paddle? And he says, sure. So he takes it and I just throw the ball at him. And he just kept hitting it back to me with this look on his face that just like broke my heart and in the best way, like the joy on his face that he was able to actually play with a real paddle.

[00:20:29] Cause what I learned afterwards is the Ugandan Federation team has a wonderful, wonderful team. Regina, um, was, was kind of the leader of it, but they also have a, uh, a writer, you know, like a journalist. And so he started, he interviewed this young, young boy and, you know, he was kind of like the ball boy watching the older kids play and from the sidelines. And his name is Ali Fusi.

[00:20:53] And, uh, and he, you know, we played and then they interviewed him and they brought us over to his mom. His mom is one of the teachers and she was just sitting watching him again with his look on. And so they interviewed her as well. And she just said, you know, she said, I am so proud, you know, just to see the joy that my son has playing this because he's always kind of watched and he serves as the ball boy.

[00:21:21] But this was one of the first times he actually got to play. And I was the person that engaged in that way. And so it was just thrilling. And, you know, that kind of brings it all full circle that not only my age, this five-year-old's age. And then I think about the story I shared the last time about my hundred year old dad, that four days before, I mean, we didn't know he was going to pass. He was a hundred. And I, I did the same thing.

[00:21:47] I threw the pickleball at him in his, in his chair, his wing chair, and he hit it every single time for me. And he's the one that taught me my, you know, basically gave me my love of tennis and sports. And so like this whole age thing kept coming up in my head is we talk philosophically that pickleball is for all ages and all abilities. And I got to witness it from five to a hundred. Yeah. It's crazy. I love it though.

[00:22:14] I mean, and you know, you just, from here, you, you know, we're here, we have all these courts and all these people and all this great stuff, but where you are going there, you get to see, I mean, the appreciation of what you were doing and you are a good player. I know. Cause I played you. So you're a good player. You, when you're on the court, it's a different world. So they, they had their hands full. So you took them down. So, but, um, I just love it. I mean, these stories are what we want people to hear.

[00:22:43] Um, and what you, what you're doing is, I mean, I mean, it almost brings tears to my eyes. I mean, it's just incredible that you, your heart and you put all this together. Cause this was not easy. I'm sure this wasn't just like, Hey, a couple of phone calls, I'll show up. I mean, there was a lot that had to happen. How long did it take you to put this all together? Well, like I said, all the credit goes to Collins Munini, the secretary general of Confederation of African Pickleball.

[00:23:09] He literally reached out to the federations he thought should be prioritized. And they were in East Africa. Um, and, uh, you know, they've had regional tournaments there and it's very, you know, it's growing in every single country. Yeah. That, that was a focus. And so I did nothing. I just literally had to show up and, you know, strategize what was the purpose of this particular visit.

[00:23:37] And, um, how can I help the federations? Because that's part of this. And one of the amazing impacts of this, again, just me as a messenger. So I don't really take much, you know, credit for it. There were the, the Ugandan, um, federation team that were, were already had in motion connecting with the Ugandan secondary school sports association, which is a governmental entity that is promoting

[00:24:07] sport in secondary schools. Well, they had already been starting to try to get it as a demonstration sport. And I think right before I got there, they made that official announcement. Well, one of the visits was Regina and the team took me to the USSSA offices. And I met with the, um, head of it. I met with the, um, the, uh, head of operations and, uh, several of their team and interviewed

[00:24:37] them as well. And the article that was written by the Ugandan federation team, um, wound up helping them get schools to reach out to the USSSA to bring the sport as a demonstration sport. And it's very rare that they do this. You know, it's gotta be the, the politics of it is that usually the ministries of sports

[00:25:03] wind up recognizing the sport similar to like the IOC, the, the, uh, um, Olympic committee. And this time it was, it's a demonstration sport. So it, uh, it's getting to be built. Recognition can only get built by its popularity and being able to start in the secondary schools and then also primary schools and private schools is kind of one of the models I saw of how this

[00:25:28] sport will flourish as opposed to here in the United States and elsewhere, it's kind of the pay for play places or the community centers. You know, you're hearing, and you can attest to this as well. Oh yeah. A lot of how pickleball grew since 1965 was, you know, middle-aged and older people got to learn it. And, uh, community centers started hosting it on their mixed use parquet wood floors. So retirees that had time during the day would go.

[00:25:57] And then we have COVID and then it becomes this fastest growing sport in the United States, let alone the world. And it seems that on a con, you know, this common thread, one of the common threads I saw is while the pay for play, you know, like private clubs are still in a very important and needed vehicle for growing the popularity of the sport.

[00:26:22] But in countries that have rural communities have, um, you know, economic challenges, they don't have courts that are quality. There are basketball courts that have been, you know, eaten up or, um, they didn't, kids, one school I went to, none of the kids had any sneakers and socks. They were playing in flip-flops or bare feet. And yet the joy of it was amazing.

[00:26:46] And so the, like I said, the gear gap is the big thing, but having these articles written were able to give them the publicity to be able to really grow the amount of locations, schools that were interested in the sport. And one of the other things is, as we all know, just put a paddle and a ball in somebody's hand and they're going to get, they're going to get an experience like no other sport. They might not get hooked the way all of us do. They might like it, enjoy it.

[00:27:16] They may have other sports they like better, but it's so easy to pick it up for the first time. The learning curve at the very, very beginning is why that barrier to entry. And that's why it's so popular because you do not have to be a seasoned athlete or have known pick, known tenants. And that's why it's growing internationally as well, because, you know, you just put a paddle in hands and that's, so coming back, that's a big part of what we're doing.

[00:27:42] But Pickleball for Good Fund is now partly focusing on. I'm hosting our first paddle drive. It's going to be at my house. So people that I know here out in Lafayette and Louisville and Boulder are going to come and they're going to bring paddles that they no longer use. Or if they want to buy a new one, it doesn't have to be, you know, a Yola Perseus.

[00:28:06] And also just donate money so that we can go purchase them or send gift cards to places that we don't want to ship them to. We want them to deliver it locally. So there's not a high shipping cost or a higher, you know, influence on our environment with all, you know, you know how I feel about no planet, no pickleball. So whenever we can save on CO2 emissions or plastic stuff, I'm all for that.

[00:28:33] Well, we at Pickleballers Next Door, we have some paddles to donate. I'm going to donate Chris Anna's paddle because she's just not doing well with it. You know, he's not very nice to me. You know why? Is it the paddle or is it the person she's playing against? Well, it's because I do all the work. And so he goes and plays and I'm working all the time. That's how it should work. But yeah, we are Pickleballers Next Door. We have some paddles for you right now.

[00:29:02] Hey, listeners, DM us. We will pick them up or meet you. We are all over town. So we would love to be part of this to help you get paddles and raise some money for this. And this is awesome. Is this during a certain time that you want this or just all the time? No, it's ongoing because obviously we have grantees that have applied to us for equipment in the United States mostly. And so we want to gather those starter kits using donated paddles that could be, you know,

[00:29:31] they don't have to be brand new. Obviously, they can't be completely broken. But I have a paddle that doesn't have their, it's kind of got a dead spot. But for young kids who just want to get on the court, that's still perfectly fine. And we'll wrap, we'll clean them. We'll wrap the grips so that they can, you know, kind of look fresher. And, you know, of course, getting brand new paddles from the big companies or, you know, the kind of smaller companies. Great.

[00:30:00] That would be awesome. But I also feel very strongly that rather than having these paddles sit there, it gives them a second life, but it also doesn't go into the landfill. Yeah. And so it's a win-win. Yeah. Right. So, so yeah, no, this is going to be all the time that we'll need them as we get more and more grantees applying for both funding and for equipment. And, you know, hopefully we can do that also with sneakers.

[00:30:31] You know, we have a local, local company that has been very, very generous to groups like Rocky Mountain Pickle in donating gear. And so I'm going to approach them for sneakers and we need socks. So maybe I'll, you know, reach out to Bombas or one of those that donate socks and, you know, some of the essentials, you know, things that we take for granted. We take for granted that we have a good enough sneaker that we can get on the court.

[00:31:00] That's not a running shoe. Yeah. And that's one of the things I learned, you know, flying to, you know, countries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa, that it doesn't take much, but it does take something. Absolutely. Well, give a shout out to the, the, uh, your, your email or your websites where people can actually go to, to, to, uh, start sending this. Let's start doing this. We want to help you. We, we, we love you. We think you're awesome. And what you're doing, I mean, we, we want to be a part of that.

[00:31:30] We want to have you on here more so we can tell more people what you're doing. Well, and we're working on our website too. So we'll put it on our website to direct it to your, um, to yours, you know, to your link. Yeah, no. So then what I think we might do is we can, uh, set up a, a specific fund because again, you know, general donations are very powerful for Pickleball for Good Fund because then we

[00:31:56] can make the grants without targeting a particular region or age group or whether it's adaptive or not. We just have a general pool of funds to be able to make grants, uh, in the United States and then a few, you know, a few abroad. Um, but we can set up like a special fund that's just for the gear and, uh, you know, we can have your logo on it and other, other entities that really want to be our paddle drivers.

[00:32:23] You know, that that's what, you know, you're going to be a paddle driver, uh, volunteer to try to be a gathering place. Eventually we want to have a, uh, bins that could be locked and either in, uh, community centers, outdoor courts and clubs, uh, the local club, the local Pickler and Thornton agreed to be kind of a pilot for us to see how many paddles their members would want to donate. And again, it doesn't have to be there all year long because, you know, people don't buy paddles every week, unlike malls.

[00:32:54] So, um, you know, we're going to try to develop a pilot and then see how we can expand it throughout the United States. Yeah. That'd be a good proof of concept up there. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So thank you. And off the air, we'll get together. We have some sponsors and partnerships with the companies that will definitely help you. They want to be in the pickleball world. They want to do good and they're already doing good in the world. So we definitely need to talk some more and have a off, off air meeting and see how we can help each other a little bit more.

[00:33:23] That's awesome. I mean, the first, from the very first time we've, we've mentioned that, that there's so much, um, we were, we're all coming from the same heart space, uh, in this sport and just seeing the good that it does for us individually, you know, with wellness, uh, and, you know, just enlivening a life at our stage of life. And, you know, now that it's growing the United States where they're getting scholarships and look at the salaries that the professionals are paying.

[00:33:49] And, um, you know, hopefully we can sustain this momentum because it's, it is life-changing. That's all I can say is that, I mean, and now it's my profession. I'm, I, I no longer, uh, I left my day job and I've decided it's time at my age to enter a new chapter and just focus a hundred percent of my time. Um, and both with pickleball for good funds.

[00:34:15] And then as an advisory, uh, advisor, uh, with global pickleball partners, kind of a new, a new consulting firm, because there's just, you know, I've been steeped in the philanthropic, the philanthropic world. And I do believe that giving back and corporate social responsibility and environmental, you know, being environmentally aware is not just a good thing. It's actually a strategic advantage to companies.

[00:34:44] And so many companies may want to do that, but they don't have the staff that have the time and focus to streamline. Like, how do you vet a grantee? How do you, how do you know they're using your product of the way you thought they would, or that they're using the money the way they did, or how do you encourage your employees to give back to their communities? If you're a pickleball company, let's say you're, you know, Yola, or let's say you're

[00:35:10] the pickler, like, how do you encourage people to what we call play it forward for all? And, um, that's kind of our mantra is that everybody that is in and around the sport, whether it's an endemic pickleball company or companies like Humana that are, you know, jumping on the bandwagon because they see the health benefit and the psychological mental health benefit where they're not a company that, that creates pickleball equipment, but

[00:35:38] they're using it as far as their health and wellness. You know, they, they need some support. They, they, this is not an easy thing to navigate. Right. And so the trip to, to the African continent taught me that federations and companies and governmental entities and clubs and everybody else could use, um, kind of a guide on the side as they navigate how they can play it forward. Not just, not just, um, you know, build their

[00:36:08] businesses, but that it is a competitive advantage to have these kinds of give back programs. Well, you know, it's great that you're doing this for everybody. I mean, you're, I'm glad you're going to be doing it full time. And, um, and we're so happy that we were able to have you on again because we just love talking to you. Yeah. You are full of energy. Um, I mean, on court and off court, uh, you are awesome. I mean,

[00:36:36] we, we just, that's why we love, this is what we, we want people vicariously to live through us and know that there's people out here doing these great things. And I think that we, like I said, do you just go, we go play our pickleball and I know it's fun, but there's other great things this pickleball can do since it's growing so much and getting so big. Oh my gosh. So well, and that's why like people that I know that you've had on and other people like life lessons through pickleball,

[00:37:02] um, you know, they had Mario Jennifer and he wrote his book. That was his personal experience and life lessons through pickleball. I mean, everybody has their own story and I have my story. You have your story. That's what inspired you to develop a podcast, which again, like for people like me, I could never get this kind of, um, platform, you know, like I don't have a podcast. And so

[00:37:30] it gives us so, you know, I mean, yeah, I could be, um, crass about it, that it's free advertising, but it's just so enriching to have people like you believe in people like us. Well, thank you so much. I mean, it takes all of us and that's one of our biggest things coming out here was to build this community of people from all ages, all over the world and let people know that what this is doing. I mean, you know, like you said it, it was pickleball and now it's just so

[00:37:57] much more than pickleball. Yeah. And I also do want to share that my time in South Africa, like I said, was a somewhat different. It is extraordinary the growth that's happening there. And I was in this all black township in Mayamel called Zamani. And they invited me to stay at their compound for a week. It's a married couple who were originally from Vermont, Stephen and Cindy.

[00:38:20] And six years ago, they built the first dedicated pickleball court in South Africa. And six years late and it was geared towards adults. So the people who work with them, the people from the town and these, this town has 75% unemployment. And yet the, the town next door that is not a black township,

[00:38:44] that's part of Mayamel has more opportunity. And again, the joy and new people that were starting in every morning, we played pickleball for an hour from like, I think it was eight to nine or seven to eight. I forget. And they welcomed me again with open arms. We had communal dinners. There's another court in the town. Now what they're doing, and I'm part of the executive team as an advisor,

[00:39:10] they're piloting a pickleball academy where Roger Kevey, who is an excellent coach, and they're going to try to create livelihoods in referee certification, in coaching certification, in the youth that are in the community and in the adults. The ultimate vision was to buy a hotel right across the street from a proposed court, but I think they're going to hold off on that. You know, they're going to start with

[00:39:36] the academy first. And I might be, and the big thing is, I might be moving there. I might go there in September for six months to a year to, and I may get like PPR certified and youth develop with youth as well, and help them like come go to the school systems and start teaching, but also to run the, help them with the capital campaign, because they need to raise funds to build this academy as a pilot. And then once

[00:40:05] they've developed proof of concept, as you said, Chris, they want to expand it all through South Africa. That's crazy. That's wonderful. Yeah, that'd be amazing for you. Yeah, we'll give the, our listeners where to go to find you. Sure. So. And I'll say it'll happen as long as I can take my bishopu rescue Ruben with me. If I can't bring him, I may not go. Yeah, you can. Yeah, yeah, got it. He's my,

[00:40:33] he's my office manager and co-pilot. Right? Exactly. So, okay, so our website is www.pickleballforgood.org. And it's the word for F-O-R, not the number for. And my email address is Susan at pickleballforgood.org. That's S-U-S-A-N.

[00:40:56] Um, and then we also have a form that if anybody's interested in, um, the initial inquiry about grants, if you have a project or a program that you want to bring to what we call an under champion community, and whether that's for, you know, adaptive in any way, mentally, physically, whether that's for a school that just lacks the funding to, to bring pickleball to it. Uh, if it's a nonprofit like, uh,

[00:41:26] uh, Y, YWCA or other kinds of entities, it has to be a nonprofit, but we, we really want to get those initial inquiries in so that we can tell our prospective donors, like, you know, we have $500,000 worth of grants that are being asked for from 75 different organizations around the country. And yet we can't fulfill them until we raise the money. And, uh, I wish I was, uh, you know,

[00:41:52] a billionaire philanthropist, but, um, I, I, uh, I didn't go that route. Well, what come, what, what you, what can't give, what can't give you given is what your heart does. I mean, that's, that's what you're giving. And, you know, we just love that. Yeah. You're such a great person. You really are. And every time we talk to you and you're just your energy, I would like to, I need to know what kind of vitamins and supplements you're taking. Cause you are, you are just a go, go.

[00:42:18] So first you have to be raised in New York's, you know, long Island and in a city, because I do think, you know, you kind of, you know, you gotta, you gotta have high energy. I think to live there. My mom was incredibly high energy. My dad lived to be a hundred. So I have that in me. Uh, my sister's also very high energy and I drink a chai every morning and you know, that chai has black tea and a little bit of sugar in it. So, uh, all that together. And,

[00:42:45] and I'm not reasonably, I mean, I'm just a happy person to every day above ground is a great day. I know for all of us, right? All of us. Yeah. And, and I just, like I said, I think at this stage of my life and career to be able to have a passion, I mean, whatever your listeners passions are, even if it's not pickleball, even if it's your family or your relationship or your, you know,

[00:43:10] you have a hobby, it just gives you energy because it's what your gift is to the world. And when you use your gift to the world, it doesn't, it's not work. It's not hard. You're in the flow. And that's what I've always felt about pickleball. It's just in the flow for me. Yep. I can't wait. Well, why don't we set up a time? I will, you need to go play. Maybe we won't invite Chris, Anna, but me and you will go play. Okay. Cause I'm donating to Denver. Yeah. We'll come down to the relish. I know that's where you like to play.

[00:43:40] And I, she would play, but I'm donating her paddle when I see you. So what if I refuse it because I want her to play? You won't know. Cause I'll just have it wrapped up and I'll just hand it to you. Mike, you're just not so nice. Are you? Let's talk about that. Hey, Chris, Chris, tell me which is your paddle and I'll refuse it. Okay. That's going to be for another podcast on how mean Mike is. But anyways, we just love talking to you. Yes. Well, guess what, Mike? Oh, sorry. Oh no.

[00:44:09] Guess what, Mike? If we do a women's only group, you're not going to be playing. So what do you think about those cookies? So I'll steal the balls and run off the court. Yeah. No, you, you're awesome. And she's awesome. I won't give her paddle away unless she's keeps hitting me with the ball. She's been body bagging me, but we love you so much. And we definitely got to talk a little bit more off air and we want to get some stuff

[00:44:35] to put on our, on our website. People listen, DM us, take her information, help out, do something. You guys are out there. That's what makes us a huge community. That's why we're on this podcast. Reach out to people, do those little things you do go a long ways all over the world. So please help. Helps everybody. And it's so easy to do a paddle drive. All you really have to do is we get a box and you host a little happy hour at your house, or if you're at the court, you put a box out and you just be a,

[00:45:04] be a, basically an ambassador, a paddle drive ambassador. And that's the pilot program we want to do because it just takes asking people. People have been so more so than money. I have to say, people are more willing to give their gear that they no longer use, whether it's a backpack, whether it's sneakers, whether it's paddles and paddles aren't cheap. It's not like, you know, these cost $25 and they're just really, they get it. They get that giving a second life to a paddle

[00:45:33] that's just living in your garage or on a shelf somewhere. It means the world to the people on the other end of that giving. So, well, we thank you so much. We will be talking to you soon. And we, I mean, soon, soon. I mean, we, this is something we were kind of waiting for you to get back and we'd like to like visit with you to see some of the stuff that you have, but we get some of your pictures. Oh, my God. Great. We'd love to post it and just show people who you are,

[00:45:59] not just this great heart and you know what you're doing. We thank you so much, Susan. Well, I thank the both of you. I love you dearly and applaud you both. And yes, we're going to play and we'll talk off air and thank you to your listeners, you know, for really supporting the podcast and support these two individuals that take all the time to hear our stories. And yeah, we have a great, great community, don't we? Love it. Love it. Well, have a good night.

[00:46:28] Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye. Campbell Chiropractic, your path to wellness. Your path to wellness starts here. Our services include chiropractic care, laser therapy, and custom orthotics. We also provide personalized

[00:46:47] nutrition plans, rehabilitation, and sports physicals. Visit us at castlerockchiro.com or call 303-663-8365.