My dog donated $ to save the Piney Pickleball Courts! Will you?

[Sandi Metz]

Jasper donated $5 to help save the courts at Piney Wood, even though this . . 

is how he actually feels about pickleball (he would rather spend his allowance on milk bones.)  

He chipped in when he heard that the Piney Wood construction project was in trouble.

Tom Melby donated--wait for it--$1,000.

So $5-$1,000. Hmm.  I suspect that many of you can contribute something within that range.

What's the problem?

It has been a dream to build 12 brand, spankin' new, permanent pickleball courts in Durham at Piney Wood Park. These courts will be a hub for community activity and a drawing card for regional tournaments. They'll be a place for all of Durham to mingle, bond, and play pickleball.

After considerable work and planning, the City approved the plan to resurface the courts and erect permanent nets and fencing, accepted a bid, and allocated funds based on the specifications in the contract. Unfortunately, the construction of those new courts ran into trouble. Contrary to expectations, the existing asphalt will not hold up to the heavy equipment needed to overlay new surfacing. Instead of overlaying new surfacing over the weak asphalt, the full depth of the courts will need to be reclaimed and stabilized, and a new surface added.

This will require around $180,000 more than Durham Parks & Rec (DPR) has budgeted for the renovation. Durham Area Pickleball Players (DAPP) is leading an effort to convince the city to allocate additional funds so the renovation can proceed.

How can you help?

Join us at the next City Council meeting. Put the Monday, May 1, 7pm City Council meeting  (5 days away!) on your schedule.  This is not 100% nailed down, so please pencil it in for now and I'll send an update to confirm the gory details.

Sign the petition.  We'll include a count of signers in our presentation to city officials.  Your signature on the petition is a vote for additional funds for pickleball. I will personally hug every signatory (at least those who don't find the idea creepy :-) ).  We only have 100 signatures right now.  No pressure, but go sign it!  Remember, I know who you are.

Make a donation.  We're asking the city to allocate additional money.  Contributions (in any amount) demonstrate our personal commitment and add to our credibility. DAPP has already donated $17,000 to the Durham Parks Foundation that's earmarked for Piney.  Every dollar you contribute gets us closer to achieving these new courts. (If you wish to make a sizable, tax-deductible contribution please contact us directly at durhampi...@gmail.com).

Please note that you can donate in your dog's name.  Also, we're an extremely inclusive community; cats, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, and reptiles of all sorts are very welcome to participate.

Register for the Bull City Open on May 4-7. This is DAPPs annual fundraiser, and the source of the $17k we've previously given to Durham Parks Foundation.  We also use funds from this tourney to buy community nets for Bethesda Park, windscreens, run clinics, etc.  All money raised supports pickleball in Durham.   

Registration closes Apr 28 so get on it if you're coming.  Look, you'll get one of these super cool towels with our new DAPP 'Picklebull' logo!

And finally:

Join the fundraising team. If you have fundraising experience and want to help with this effort, please email durhampickl...@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading.  Sign, give, register, email this to your friends, and I'll look for you on the courts.

Best,

Sandi

ps: Check out DAPP's website to keep up with the current status of Piney Wood renovations or read DAPPs annual financial reports.

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Sandi Metz

2023 President

Durham Area Pickleball Players (DAPP)