THE PADDLE IS THE KEY
The world can be lonely and tough but pickleball is here to provide the hope and relief and connection that everyone needs. Peace in Pickleball collects and donates equipment to international coaches and communities committed to providing free access to pickleball, specifically for the natives. The coaches work with and inspire individuals, schools, government programs and municipalities to understand how free pickleball encourages community engagement, physical activity, social connectivity, mental and emotional health. Your support helps us donate pickleball materials to international communities in order to provide access to this unique and all-inclusive sport, bridging sizable cultural and societal gaps and creating abundant opportunities.
How it all started...
Around the world, countless communities gather to play pickleball, the most inclusive sport the world has ever known. So then why aren't the natives playing with them? Peace in Pickleball was realized in Puerto Morelos, Mexico when some young kids showed up hoping to play pickleball with the expat group. Our excitement quickly turned to confusion when someone asked us not to play with them. What we came to understand is that most pickleball communities have finite resources, not only to play but most definitely to teach. The immediate reaction was to solve the problem by donating the paddles we brought but what we came to understand is that this is most definitely a global problem. That day planted the seed for Peace in Pickleball: a mission to collect and donate equipment so that anyone, anywhere, can discover this incredible sport. Pickleball isn’t just the fastest growing sport in the world, it’s a global network of connection. On the court, people make friends, share ideas, and find community. Off the court, we’re not just growing the game we’re building unimaginable opportunities for joy, belonging, physical & emotional health, generational bonding, community-building, and networking. If you're visiting this site chances are good you know the kinds of opportunities pickleball provides.
Through our initiatives, we have successfully donated over 80 nets, 1000 paddles and 2000 balls to incredibly motivated teachers in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, & Costa Rica. We fly to meet and work with every recipient. Join us on our journey to continue to spread the joy of pickleball for a brighter and more connected future. Together we are making a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of individuals and communities around the world.
Our Impactful Projects
Mexico
2022 APR, Puerto Morelos- We successfully partnered with the Puerto Morelos Pickleball Club in order to facilitate a new pickleball program that the secondary school integrated into their physical education curriculum. Word spread to the Quintanaroo Governement who have since become involved and further invested in the growth of this incredible sport.
Equipment Sponsor: Players Pickleball
2022 SEP, La Paz de Huanacaxtle- We met Joan Gil, a teacher from Texas living in the Puerto Vallarta area for 25 years. A strong advocate for sports and opportunities for youth, this pioneer of pickleball was well-connected to some motivated people. We donated 3 sets of materials to her programs which resulted in a new program at Telesecundaria Juan Alvarez, and two others, in an area where many of the children are put to work instead of attending school. Upon leaving we asked what important donations were being overlooked. She mentioned shoes, so we flew home and created a tournament where tennis shoes were part of the participation fee. In November of that same year we flew back with more than 100 pairs of shoes for the kids and families that support our mission.
Equipment Sponsors: Instadink, Michael Nielsen, Denver Pickleball
Guatemala
2023 MAY- In early 2023 we connected with a gentleman by the name of Dennis Shepherd. He is a Guatemalan residing in Texas with strong ties in many different cities around Guatemala. He introduced us to several altruistic individuals with appreciation for pickleball. That set up a five week adventure to meet our newest recipients, Club Antigueño, Common Hope, Pedagogia en Movimiento, and IMA Guatemala Colegio Campo Nissi.
Equipment Sponsors: Denver Pickleball, Ventura Pickleball
2024 OCT- We returned with six more programs and an even greater understanding of how incredible this network is. Some of the people running the programs have now had a chance to meet and are expanding their reach. Susy de Ahlberg introduced us to a wonderful young woman named Nicholle who is well-connected to the Technology Institute in Guatemala City. Nicholle has now met with the director of Pedagogia en Movimiento, Monica Perez, and together they will teach and host open play several times per month. The director at Common Hope, Renato Westby, introduced us to a young lady named Kimberly who has brought her materials and is teaching classes in San Miguel. One day Kimberly was learning the sport and a few months later she had a full set of materials to teach and inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
Equipment Sponsors: Engage, Pro XR, JOOLA, Lori Baker-Olson
2025 APR- The momentum continues and the teachers are busier and more motivated than ever. Just like the others this journey starts with a trip to the government foster home with Monica Perez of Pedagogia en Movimiento. These young ladies are yanked from everything they know with no answers and no access to education, or outside anything, except the volunteers that are cleared to deliver it. You would think that is the most rewarding experience but somehow we are connected with more than a few programs like this. Much like this one we aren't allowed to take photos or post about them. We work with detention centers, rehabilitation and reintegration programs, foster homes, public and private schools.
Equipment Sponsors: Pickleball Warehouse, Head Pickleball, Get2Eleven, Paddletek, Selkirk, Tom Habrock
2025 AUG- After a very generous donation from One Shot Pickleball it was important to act fast making sure that no equipment sits around. We organized to fly with 16 nets and 100 paddles, the largest test so far. When we landed we reconnected with IMA Guatemala Colegio Campo Nissi, to teach once again and meet the new principal.
For what we thought would be mostly entertainment with a side of networking, we attended a tournament in Antigua. To our complete delight and surprise the Dominican Republic and Honduras representatives were in attendance! That set the stage for some new connections and broader scope for how we can better utilize our resources and expand our reach by attending these larger international events.
Equipment Sponsor: OneShot Pickleball
El Salvador
2024 DEC- While in Guatemala we met a wonderful woman named Susy de Ahlberg who introduced us to a program in El Salvador, called YWAM, a global movement full of young people who believe they were created to transform the world. We introduced the sport in two cities, Santa Ana and Texistepeque, fostering an opportunity to be on the forefront of the worlds fastest growing sport. Susy has since participated in several pickleball play days where more and more of the community is getting involved.
Equipment Sponsor: JOOLA
PANAMA
2025 APR- Copa Airlines has a free stopover option so we started putting out some feelers on social media. We connected with Tristan Aubrey and Danielle Gamarra. They sent us a little information about the current pickleball climate. There was room to grow and teachers willing to grow it. We started out teaching at a primary school near Gorgona. From there we went to the public courts where we met the country's first para-player, Luis Castillo. Everyone had incredibly nice things to say about Luis. He never complains, uses his free time to teach and inspire other local players, doesn't expect any special treatment, and has a delightful sense of humor. He was playing in a barely functioning regular wheelchair with a smile ear to ear the entire 2+ hours we played. When we started this charity the mission was pretty simple, and we'd like to keep it that way, but we were also inspired to reach out to the network and see if anyone had access to a sport wheelchair for this young man. Worst case scenario the answer was no but why not just ask, right?
Equipment Sponsors: Pickleball Warehouse, JP & Chelsey Parker of The Picklr (Aurora & Cherry Creek) Head Pickleball, Get2Eleven, Paddletek, Selkirk, Tom Habrock
2025 AUG- Two years ago in Guatemala we met someone mentioned above, Susy de Ahlberg. She has since become a trusted ally and great support system in Guatemala. When we mentioned we were looking for a sport chair she connected us with a ministry called Wheels of Hope, located in Guatemala. An angel of a gentleman named Daryl Fulp asked for very specific measurements and ended up donating a semi sport chair to Luis!!... so we picked it up in Guatemala and delivered it to Panama a few days later. There was no big party. This isn't about making a spectacle or being in the spotlight. We generally feel that the best use of the space and weight of the luggage is nets, paddles, and balls. That's how we can touch the maximum amount of people while working within all the restrictions, but in this very special case we felt compelled to see if the network could provide for this gentleman and... of course it did! You guys are the inspiration!
While in Panama this time we also worked with the only boarding school. After we left the school psychologist came by and said there was a buzz among the students. She immediately reached out to see when we were going to be able to come back. To our surprise she is the therapist at multiple schools and asked about the possibility of launching more programs! We have our work cut out for us! So the plan right now is to reconnect with our current network of teachers at the 2025 Pickleball World Cup in Fort Lauderdale.
Equipment Sponsors: Wheels of Hope GT, OneShot Pickleball
2026 JAN- We were invited to be the impact sponsor for the inaugural Panama Canal Cup! It was a spectacular event with 5 visiting countries and more opportunities to connect. One would think the opportunities lay in networking with the visiting pros. No. We met a Jamaican athlete living in Panama who is passionate about sharing the sport and was going to visit his home country in just a few days. We asked if he (Andre) had any connections and inroads to schools. More on that when we visit Jamaica in April!
2026 FEB New territories! David, Volcan, and Boquete! I was greeted by the most phenomenal gentleman, Pete. He and Bruce gave us the lay of the land, citing difficulty finding court space. There is always shared multi-use space but it's primarily dedicated to the national sports, soccer, basketball, and volleyball. That has become a common theme. So we can and will continue to offer the equipment to coaches but we need to be inspiring the governments to care, to see us for the network that we are. While in David we were asked to play padel with some local young talent. At the end the girl said to me, "I like how fast you play". My immediate thought was, well then you'd probably love pickleball! We invited her to join the next day and we were right, she loved it! Of course she was invited back but the expats and retirees play during work and school hours and that's going to be an ongoing issue for all locals... So she exposed another very real hurdle our sport faces in welcoming the locals-- we need weekend and evening hours. Yikes, there is work to be done.
BOQUETE, PANAMA- While scoping the scene I was reminded that we were playing during work and school hours as there were no locals playing. When I entered the gym I saw a young man sitting, reading and writing. After I started playing I noticed another young man doing what appeared to be studying. I caught him watching our game and offered him the paddle, which he immediately accepted! When we finished our game I gave him my paddle and borrowed one from a loaner stack. We first juggled a little and then passed the ball back and forth. He was quite coordinated so I decided to throw us into a game and I would explain more of the rules once we got there. I motioned that he needed to serve cross court. He nailed it on the first try. Then when we were receiving I told him to come up to the NVZ line, with his paddle up, after he hits the return of serve. He nailed it again. And again and again and again. Really? Yes, because he had been watching and waiting and hoping to be invited! That is 100% our purpose. We gave him a paddle and set him up with some new opportunities.
Equipment Sponsor: One Shot Pickleball
ECUADOR
2026 FEB Extraordinarily impressed is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Ecuador. We visited more than 1,000 kids in a week. The programs are in the great hands of Ivan Camacho and Fernando Arellano of the Juego Limpio Foundation. Fernando manages the Milagro Tennis Center where they award 2 scholarships per school to 5 different schools for free coaching. We connected with a logistics partner who helps us import the equipment which, when aligned with the right people, could contribute to this becoming the strongest territory in the South. It's all about the passion of the teachers and the ease of transport of the equipment.
COSTA RICA
2026 FEB, JACO- In late 2025, at the Pickleball World Cup we met a gentleman in a group called Pickleball Changes Lives. After talking we decided to organize a trip to see if we could gain some traction with the government and nearby schools. Unfortunately the two groups are too busy fighting each other and unable to focus and dedicate their energy to the needs of their community. I have to say I was VERY inspired by this experience. More to come on that.
We originally intended to do the majority of the work in Jaco but also met a gentleman named Alvaro Zamora, through a unique connection in Panama. We have donated 6 sets of gear to Costa Rica, only one to Alvaro. I'll give you one guess who has the best communication and is doing the most with the least. We recognize and celebrate his passion. He is working closely with the municipalities to gain approval to paint lines for free public courts. It's exactly what the sport needs. THANK YOU ALVARO!
Up Next: Jamaica 4/19/26- 1/25/26 Panama 4/25/26- 5/1/26 Puerto Rico 5/1/26-5/9/26
Donation Opportunities
Our teachers do a lot with a little. One paddle can introduce 25 people to a life changing sport
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