- Pickleball players gathered to raise funds for Utah County Children's Justice Center.
- The event addressed federal funding cuts impacting child victim services in Utah.
- Over $15,000 was raised with hopes to make it an annual fundraiser.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Pickleball players of many skill levels came together on Friday to serve up hope and support child victim services in Utah County.
For the second year, county commissioners hosted a pickleball tournament at The Picklr Lehi, an indoor pickleball court facility located near the border of west Lehi and Saratoga Springs, to raise funds for the Utah County Children's Justice Center.
"We have had about $50,000 in federal cuts and all of that funding was paying for children's therapy, so we are looking to the community to help us be able to still provide that to kiddos," said Rebecca Martell, executive director at the Utah County Children's Justice Center.
Utah County Commissioners started the event last year after recognizing the funding gap the organization faced.
"As our population grows, the demand for service there also grows. And so any reduction in federal funding, you know, it hurts us," Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran said.
The Children's Justice Center's two Utah County sites in Provo and American Fork are among more than two dozen others in the state — spanning from Logan to St. George.
A reduction in federal Victims of Crime Act funding has impacted organizations that provide services and resources for children and adults across Utah and beyond. Utah County Commissioners have stepped in to help fill the gaps so the center doesn't have to lose any services.
"We as a commission have backfilled, you know, to get them to where they need to be," Beltran told KSL.
The Utah County Children's Justice Center offers forensic interviews, medical exams, counseling, legal advocacy and community resources, all with the mission of ensuring trauma-informed care for each child who comes into their facilities.
On average, it serves around 1,000 new child abuse cases each year. According to Martell, however, the Utah County Children's Justice Center is already on track to potentially see increased demand this year.
"So we actually were looking at our last quarter, and there was a 16% increase from the previous year," she told KSL.
Utah County Commissioners say the pickleball tournament is more than a fundraiser; it is also a community commitment to healing and resilience. Money raised at Friday's event will go towards therapy services, which the center says is a vital piece of healing for child victims of physical or sexual abuse. So they've turned to the community to boost the support.
"They broke the 4,000 client mark last year. And so they have helped a lot of kids," Beltran said.
Dozens of teams took part in the daylong event to win various prizes, with many others who came to spectate or just to support the cause.
Abby Owens, associate director of sports for Explore Utah Valley, who was instrumental in organizing the fundraiser, said they hope to continue it annually.
"We're hoping to make this bigger and better every single year," she said.
Owens added that while the partnership has been a unifying experience, Explore Utah Valley is honored to be a part of the efforts to help sustain child victim services.
"We don't want just the Utah County kids to benefit from this, you know, unifying event — we want everybody to be able to get that funding back, because it's not fair to the kids," she said.
As of Friday evening, more than $15,000 had been raised toward the center, which relies heavily on donations and volunteers.
People are encouraged to visit the Utah County Children's Justice Center website for information on how to get involved.
