Our 2026 Cause:
One Day to Remember gives families facing advanced-stage cancer a One Day to Remember. Their team strives to provide a curated experience that is individualized for each family—AND at no cost to them. These can be at home or at local attractions. Our goal is to give families dealing with advanced-stage cancer the opportunity to make lasting, positive memories. Included in the special day, we send a professional photographer so that every family receives a commemorative photobook.
They have provided more than 700 families with One Day to Remember since 2016.
INFORMATION FOR 2026’s TOURNAMENT!
In 2026, PUMP will once again host Kickball for a Cause at Mellon Park and bring together young people, ages 21+, for a day of kickball, fundraising, picnicking, and fun.
Since 2003, Kickball for a Cause (K4aC) has featured teams who play in round-robin lightning games in Mellon Park throughout the day while enjoying generous donations of food, drinks and music from our sponsors. The top teams advance into playoff rounds – which always generates a crowd of supporters and cheers.
Finding our Causes
Since its inception, Kickball for a Cause has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local nonprofits and charities. For the past few years, we have worked with the community to help us choose which Cause(s) the event will support.
Our 2026 process will again have multiple steps. First, we will host an open nomination process where interested local nonprofits can apply to be a 2026 Cause beneficiary. Organizations can expect the following benefits and expectations for participation as a Cause. When our nomination period closes, PUMP will hold an internal vetting process to narrow down our finalists to between 4-6 organizations that meet certain criteria. At that point, we will host an open voting opportunity for the 1-2 Cause beneficiaries to be determined. For voting, all persons will receive 1 vote; all PUMP members votes will count x2.
Voting is now open for the 2026 Kickball for a Cause tournament: Click here to learn more about the four finalists and click through to vote
Application
PUMP prides itself on the work we do to ensure that the Causes have a meaningful, awesome, and helpful experience at Kickball for a Cause. Organizations can expect us to listen, and help cater the experience to their specific needs.
We encourage everyone to share this with your favorite local nonprofits to see if they would be a good fit for this opportunity. PUMP will be working hard to ensure that the opportunity is seen broadly across our region’s diverse range of organizations.
Every year, we ask all interested nonprofits to have a staff or board member apply directly to be a cause beneficiary.
2026 Timeline:
- April 20th – May 22nd: Application open
- May 26th – June 9th: Internal PUMP Vetting Process
- June 11th – June 21st: Open Voting
- Anyone is eligible to vote one time
- PUMP Members votes count as 2 votes
- Tuesday June 23rd: Announcement of Charity Winner(s)
- Tuesday June 23rd: Tournament Registration Opens
History of Kickball for a Cause
Kickball for a Cause was first played in 2003, and was then called Kickball for Hope. Beginning in 2015, the tournament rebranded to Kickball for a Cause. You can read more about the history of the tournament and causes here or explore our blog.
Questions about nominations or Kickball for a Cause?
Contact Greg Mitrik at greg@pump.org.
