A weekend of fun for a good cause is in store with Banger Pickleball (BP Gives), a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting the Wounded Warriors Project and local veterans.
The organization has three events coming up that will continue its mission of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for veterans.
It will kick off with the 3rd Annual Honor Dinner at Marty B’s in Bartonville on Wednesday, April 29, which will feature two speakers from Wounded Warriors.
“They’re going to talk about their journeys and how the Wounded Warrior Project impacted their lives after returning from the front lines,” said Mark Waldorf, one of the founders of BP Gives. “The services and support the Wounded Warrior Project offers are incredible.”
Interested parties can register on the BP Gives website.
On May 2, BP Gives will host a racquetball tournament at the LA Fitness in Highland Village, located at 3198 Justin Road.
The tournament will be set up in doubles format with multiple divisions. Teams will compete for gold and silver medals.
Check-In for teams will start at 8 a.m., announcements will be made at 8:30 a.m. and the games will be played from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Before each session of play, one of our warriors will share a bit of his story,” said Waldorf. “It gives everyone the opportunity to better understand what our veterans go through and the important work of the Wounded Warrior Project.”
Interested participants can register on the organization’s website.
BP Gives will round out the weekend with its 12th Annual Pickleball Tournament at ATP in Denton, formerly known as Dinkers, on May 2-3.
Pickleball events will include men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles, with divisions for players of all ages and skill levels.
Registration for the pickleball event will close Monday, April 27. Participants can register on the event’s website.
Waldorf comes from a sales background, but said he discovered his passion for nonprofit work after he and friends organized a racquetball tournament benefitting a neighbor that lost their home to flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Now, after working nearly 30 years as a sales executive in Fort Worth, Waldorf has found his niche serving the community in southern Denton County.
“Watching the community come together and make a difference in each other’s lives has become a calling for me,” he said. “It fires me up.”
Waldorf and his co-founders decided on the Wounded Warrior Project because of their personal connections to the military.
“All of us had a connection in one way or another to the military,” he said. “Now, seeing the community come together to support WWP and help our veterans has been incredibly encouraging.”
In 2025, the organization also launched a direct benefit program to support a local veteran, helping address some of the real-life challenges they face.
To date, BP Gives has donated more than $125,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project and provided more than 1,200 toys to children at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth through its St. Nicholas Children’s Charities initiative.
For more information on BP Gives and register for any of the above events or volunteer, visit the organization’s website.
