Irene D’Aloisio

The Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) loves giving a helping hand to our Hamilton Kids. We found out late last year that there are an awful lot of homeless and underprivileged kids going to Hamilton High School in Chandler. That’s right here in our own community, and so we wanted to help. We dug in to learn exactly how we could do that. The first step was having someone to head up the effort. Last November, Charlotte Nichol, club member extraordinaire, put together a little campaign. The second step was easy! Our club members opened their hearts and their wallets to help. Charlotte had amassed a nice, tidy sum. Initially, we thought we would only be able to help one family at Christmas, but as we learned more about the Hamilton Kids and our members continued to contribute and as we watched our fund grow, we were able to do so much more.

We adopted a family of four and provided everything needed for a nice Christmas dinner as well as several gifts for each of the family members. And the third step was even easier. It was the shopping for the family. But it was even more satisfying to hear they loved the surprises that we had wrapped up just for them.

The SLPCC members were so generous! There has been enough money left in our fund to supply the many Hamilton Kids with toiletries, water, snacks, gift cards for food on weekends, school supplies, and other essentials throughout the entire year. And we’re going to do it all over again this year, because it was such a good feeling!

The Hamilton Kids need our help, and SLPCC is willing to show they care. The Hamilton Kids, just like all the kids we know, are our future, and we want to be there to support them and help them grow. We’re looking forward to getting to know another family this year, and more feel-good shopping to scout out some great gifts for them. And we can’t wait!