Amidst all the bad news stemming from the California wildfires, there are some extraordinary people stepping up to help.

Los Cab Pickleball enlisted the help of their pickleball community and local pros to help raise money for their neighbors in North LA County. 

The Brascia family jumped at the opportunity to provide assistance.

Mary and Maggie Brascia's father, Vinnie, heads up the pickleball program at the facility.

“A couple of us from the Los Cab community came together wanting to help our neighbors in LA because of the devastation from the wildfires,” said Mary. 

The PPA Tour's Veolia Southern California, which was slated to be held at Los Cab earlier this month, was cancelled due to the ongoing threat of fires in the region.

Instead of taking the week off, though, the Brascias decided to lend their fellow Golden State residents a hand.

“We were glad to be able to spend time on a non-tournament weekend with our SoCal pickleball community and use pickleball to help others,” added Mary. “Pickleball is all about community. As Maggie and I continue to compete on tour and grow the game, we want people to know that pickleball is for everyone. Anyone can play. It can truly change lives.”

Together with MLP's SoCal Hard Eights, the team raise $17,000.

And that number is still growing thanks to the local pickleball community’s generosity. 

“It was really special to see so many SoCal pros and friends gather to just play some games for a good cause,” concluded Mary. “Special thanks to my dad, Rick Chan and the Hard Eights team, Steven Ma and the Los Cab crew for making this happen.”

The Hard Eights have also shared resources to learn more about helping your local pickleball community in California.