Brewery hosts ping-pong tournament raising over $1,600 for local charities

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - A local brewery hosted a day of fun, games, food, and drinks Sunday, all for a good cause.

Native Brew Works in Jonesboro hosted the ‘Balls of Fury Ping-Pong Tournament’ throughout the day Sunday. While it brought great fun to the competitors and watchers, it also helped support eight local charities.

“It’s not just a place for beer and food, we want people to come together,” Ellen Hundley, co-owner of Native Brew Works said. “Even better that we can bring awareness to local nonprofits and give them some money because they can’t do the good things they do without money.”

The tournament featured 16 participants with prizes for the top three contestants. The winner, Zachary Beaver, received a $50 gift card, a t-shirt, and a Native drinking glass. Second place received a $30 gift card and a t-shirt, and third place went home with a $15 gift card.

All entry fees went to the charity of the winner’s choice, which was Habitat for Humanity.

“Habitat for Humanity is the big winner today. They’re great. Everyone needs a home and Habitat helps out with that,” champion, Beaver said.

However, all eight charities were winners in a way. From Wednesday to Sunday, the brewery donated $1 of every beer sold to the organizations. The patron who purchased the beer was given a ticket that they could choose exactly which non-profit they wanted to support.

Those non-profits are:

While the brewery didn’t have a final count on tickets, they say over $1,600 was raised through entry fees, beer purchases and donations.

Hundley said she hopes to host more events like this one in the future.

“(Sixteen participants) is about all we could do in one day, so we hope this grows into more tournaments throughout the year or even a ping-pong league. We would love to see that,” she said.

The brewery’s ping-pong table is a top attraction, according to Hundley. Its popularity – with some patrons coming just to play instead of eating or drinking – helped hatch the idea for the tournament.

Contestant Tristian Adkins says he’s never thought of himself as being a great ping-pong player, but he was willing to give it a try to help others.

”I’ve got friends at Habitat of Humanity and we are involved in Real Estate so if we can help that side of things and have fun then its definitely worth. It made me feel way better that it was for charity, and it wasn’t just one person taking the pool. Less stress and it was more altruistic, so I felt good about it,” Adkins said.

President of Brenda’s Table, Incorporated says they will be able to use the money to help families through their emergency-based nutrition fund.

“We step in and help provide food and nutrition for your family during an unplanned event or an emergency. We can provide that for a family for about $100 to $150 per family,” Andrea Dionne Kain said.

Kain says she is a huge supporter of Native Brew Works, because Native Brew Works supports the community.

Co-Owner Jackson Spencer couldn’t agree more and he says it’s all about shaping the community.

“We wanted to create the environment which helps cultivate the community we wish to live in,” Spencer said. “So, by giving back to local non-profits and local charities so the money stays here, I think it helps create that... the thing we want to see in our community.”

For more information, you can visit their website here.

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