Newmarket’s Paula Rodrigues has spent years calling on heroes in the community to fundraise for the Newmarket Food Pantry.
After collecting thousands of pounds of food through her Stay Home, Remain a Hero food-raising campaigns, Rodrigues is asking the community to get more active for her next fundraising effort through a charity volleyball tournament. She said she wants to keep raising for the food bank because of the vital role it plays in the community.
“It’s something in our community that’s really, really important," she said. “So many people in the community really rely on this thing. Food, shelter, water, these are all things that are a necessity, so I think it’s important to have that help.”
Rodrigues will host her new Stay Active, Remain a Hero charity tournament at Newmarket Greens Golf Range Aug. 18. All proceeds from the tournament will go to the Newmarket Food Pantry, with the event featuring both free play and a six-versus-six team event.
Over the past few years, Rodrigues has held a pick-up event to gather donations, starting in the pandemic to help fundraise at a time when the Newmarket Food Pantry was seeing a decline in donations.
In the first couple of years, they gathered more than 1,000 pounds of food, she said. But as restrictions lifted and the donations went down — about 500 pounds in 2023 — Rodrigues said it was time to switch it up.
“We still wanted to continue supporting them even if it wasn’t in the same way we used to,” she said.
She and her fellow group of volunteers decided to hold an event. She said they picked volleyball as a fun, non-contact sport that is easy to pick up.
“We thought it was like a fun way to get people active in the community,” she said. “You can have a lot of people. Everyone can play. Just a fun way to bring everyone out into the community and give back while doing so.”
Rodrigues said there should be plenty of local organizations already signed up to attend, such as F45. But anyone can participate, whether alone, in small groups, or as part of a team of six.
“I know a lot of people don’t like to run, so I thought it was fun.”
Their goal this year is to raise $1,000, she said, adding they hope it can be a success and run for years to come.
“The main goal is trying to give as much money to the food pantry as possible,” she said. “As well, making it an event where everyone has a good time.”
You can sign up for the event online through Google Docs. It will take place at 18444 Yonge St, East Gwillimbury starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 18.
