‘Saved the day for us’: Local business steps up to help Big Brothers Big Sisters after S2 eviction

‘Saved the day for us’: Local business steps up to help Big Brothers Big Sisters after S2 eviction

What was supposed to be a time of celebration and fundraising for an Idaho non-profit quickly turned stressful after their event location closed with just days’ notice.

Thanks to another local business that stepped in at the last minute, they were able to pull off their most successful fundraising event ever.

Big Little Dill

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Idaho was set to have its third annual ‘Big Little Dill’ Pickleball tournament at S2 Pickleball in Boise on Saturday, June 6. The event raises funds for youth mentoring within the program, which pairs kids with mentors who will be “a positive role model, friend, and listening ear.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director Hilary Xoumanivong told BoiseDev they had been planning the event for about a year and had held previous pickleball tournaments there before.

“S2 was a great partner for the first two years,” she said. “They kind of ran the logistical side for us, and then we did all the marketing, like everything else. They just kind of ran the specific tournament.”

On May 30, one week before the event, Xoumanivong said they received a message from someone who told them there was an eviction notice on the doors of S2.

BoiseDev reported that S2 Pickleball closed after they were evicted for not paying rent.

“That was the first we had heard of it,” she said, adding that they immediately reached out to the General Manager at S2.

“He’s like, ‘I didn’t know anything. This is the first I’m hearing of this. I’ll be in touch with you.’”

She said they lived through the unknown Sunday and Monday.

“Monday, they were like, you know, ‘We’re gonna be fine. We’ve paid the rent. We’ve done all the things. It’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be fine.’ But there was just something in the back of our minds telling us that it wasn’t going to be fine,” Xoumanivong said.

So, the Big Brothers Big Sisters team began reaching out to other pickleball locations in the area in the hopes of finding something with a few days’ notice.

“One of the first calls was to the River Club,” Xoumanivong said.

The River Club’s Director of Pickleball Stephanie Coddens said she had heard of S2’s closure a few hours earlier.

“I get this phone call, and I could almost hear the panic, and it just got my heartstrings tugging,” Coddens said. “And so I was like, ‘All right, when is this tournament? What do you need?’”

Coddens said she worked with her general manager to make sure they could accommodate it.

“I was able to call back and just be like, ‘All right, you got a new venue,’” Coddens said.

“They were just like, ‘Yes. Done. Come here. We have courts for you,’” Xoumanivong said.

“(It’s a) pretty cool place that I work for,” Coddens said. “I feel very fortunate.”

“Stephanie, she just welcomed us in basically with open arms,” Xoumanivong said. “It was from the very first moment: ‘How can we help? What do you need? Like, we just want this to be really successful for you.’”

Xoumanivong said at one point they were thinking about canceling the event.

“We only have three days, and all of a sudden it was ‘no, no, don’t cancel it. Come here, we’ve got you,’ and they just helped make it this huge success. It actually turned out to be one of our most successful pickleball tournaments to date.”

According to their Facebook post, they were able to raise $17,650.

“It always feels good to help out, and the club feels that way. I feel that way,” Coddens said. “It’s really cool, and I could tell they were super appreciative.”

“They really came in and saved the day for us,” Xoumanivong said.

No money back

Xoumanivong said they had paid the full fee to S2 prior to hosting their tournament.

“They cashed our check one week before they closed,” she said.

After moving their event to the River Club, she said they reached out a couple of times to try to get their money back, and eventually got a check.

“I deposited it immediately. I told the bank what was happening. They processed it immediately. Came back insufficient funds,” she said. “So then we tried again, and it came back insufficient funds again, and so we’re actually out now an additional $24.”

That’s when Xoumanivong said they reached out to S2 again.

“We’re like, ‘Hey, this came back insufficient funds. Can we get a cashier’s check? Can we get a wire? Can we get cash? Like, can we just get our deposit or our payment back in some way?’ And we haven’t.”

BoiseDev reached out to S2 to ask if they have issued another refund, but have yet to hear back.

How you can help

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Idaho pairs ‘bigs’ (adults) and ‘littles’ (kids) together to create mentoring relationships through different avenues, and it’s always looking for new volunteers.

“We always have more kids on our wait list than volunteers,” Xoumanivong said.

Right now, they need what they call ‘lunch buddies,’ where you meet with a ‘little’ once a week at their school for lunch during the school year. Year-round opportunities are also available.

“We make really intentional matches based on common life experiences, more than just likes and interests,” Xoumanivong said. “We really get to know all of our participants and create matches that are, you know, hopefully going to stand the test of time. And what we see is that youth today need more support than ever.”

Xoumanivong said that pairing a caring adult who shows up simply because they want to creates incredible benefits for the kids they serve.

“We see kids have an increased sense of self-belonging and self-confidence,” she said. “They’re more likely to attend school. They have better grades. They’re 20% more likely to go on to college or some type of post-high school education. And to top it off, the top way to build resilience in young people is through a meaningful relationship with a caring adult.”

You can learn more about their volunteer opportunities here.