Kick for a Cause hosted its fifth annual kickball tournament at Shadow Mountain Park on Saturday.
The tournament kicked off by recognizing the seven kids supported by this year's event, a local singing the national anthem, and a visit from Reno Aces mascot Archie for the first kick.
Co-organizer and Sparks City Councilman Donald Abbott says playing kickball is fun, but it's even better when it supports the community.
"What's really neat is that it helps fill the gap that insurance doesn't always cover for the different needs," Abbott said. "So, we're just helping out the community by filling that gap. And we're also having a darn good time raising money today."
Co-founder Stephanie Weiss started the tournament back in 2021. Her son Cameron suffered a stroke in the womb and was born with cerebral palsy. Weiss says this moment opened her eyes to what families of children with disabilities need.
"I didn't even know what cerebral palsy was before my son was diagnosed," Weiss said. "Ever since, I got a part of [this world], I'm not going to stop getting involved in helping out any family that I can."
Kick for a Cause raises money through team registration fees and a handful of sponsors, but also through a silent auction and raffle for all 17 teams.
Abbott says both get very competitive because of the buy-back game for third place.
"So, there's a raffle prize and a silent auction," Abbott says, "and then whoever wins those two [fundraisers] play against each other. We've seen that silent auction go for $500, $600 because people want to buy back into the bracket."
Click here to learn more about Kick for a Cause and how you can support their cause.
