THOMAS COUNTY, GA — Fountain of Life in Thomas County is expanding to five nights a week, and they're hosting a pickleball tournament to raise funds for a seven-night operation.
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Fountain of Life, the only emergency homeless shelter west of Valdosta, is expanding its services to five nights a week and hosting a pickleball tournament to fund a full seven-night operation.
Just weeks after showing the need in Thomas County, ABC 27 returned to the shelter where they have added another night, and they are not stopping there.
"We have just started in March. We just started opening a five night, our fifth night. So we're open now Thursday through Monday nights, but we're not content with that. We want to be open seven nights a week. That's, I mean, who, who is just homeless five nights a week?" Dan Salvater said.
Salvater, the president of the shelter, is pushing to open every night to meet the growing demand. Last year, Salvater told me they served over 160 people.
The shelter is more than just a place to sleep. They also provide meals, showers, laundry, and a safe space for people to get back on their feet.
"I’m amazed how there's...I constantly meet people in Thomasville that don't even know we have a shelter. In fact, it was just posted a week ago on Totally Thomasville. Somebody said, we need a homeless shelter in Thomasville. And we were like, 'We've got a homeless shelter,'" Salvater said.
To raise awareness and money to keep the fifth night going — and hopefully add even more — the shelter is hosting a pickleball tournament. Salvater expects over 70 people to sign up, which could bring in around $10,000 to $15,000 to support the shelter.
"It's growing. We always have these courts are always full. People are always waiting, so I think it's a great way to raise money and have a good day out here. Sure, I'm gonna sign up this year. Today, me and my partner are going to sign up so we can play. That's amazing," Aron Reneau said.
When asked if he thinks he will win, Reneau was confident.
"We're going to win, absolutely," Reneau said.
The pickleball tournament is happening Saturday, March 28, on the local courts starting at 8 a.m.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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