Charity

Since WAKA was first founded in 1998, charity has been an important and ongoing part of our mission.
Our gifts are growing as we do and we are proud to continue to give back to our communities
through active charity programs and fundraisers. Each WAKA league is encouraged to select a
local charity or local chapter of a national charity (generally one benefiting children) and raise
funds and awareness for this organization. WAKA appreciates the work of the majority of leagues
participating in this effort and recognizes those leagues that excel in fundraising numbers
and methods. In this way, we all work to increase awareness among everyone associated
with WAKA about how they can help those in need in their area.

WAKA has selected two preferred national charity partners, Kick-it and KEEN USA. 

Kick-it as the national preferred charity partner. Kick-it is a national grassroots fundraising program
that raises money for children’s cancer research by inspiring people to play kickball or host other
events. Donations directly help kids & young adults in your community! Proceeds benefit Curesearch to fund
research at the Children’s Oncology Group. This group of medical professionals
treats 90% of children with cancer at over 180 hospitals in the United States.

KEEN USA, through its network of affiliates provides free sports and recreation programs for young people with disabilities. KEEN pairs a trained volunteer “coach”, one-to-one, with a young “athlete,” and lets them discover together just what they can do. KEEN’s programs are unstructured and non-competitive, allowing young people facing even significant challenges to find joy through play.

To help individual leagues coordinate their charitable efforts, WAKA suggests a wide
variety of proven fundraisers including kickball tournaments, silent auctions, scavenger hunts,
league merchandise sales, bachelor and bachelorette auctions, walk-a-thons,and many more fun and unique events.

On a national level, WAKA strives to assist charitable endeavors with the same grassroots approach.
Organizations looking for help in small kickball tournaments and events are paired with their local
WAKA Kickball leagues for equipment, training and volunteers.