Serving others’ needs: SON Foundation helping cancer patients with pickleball event

With its renowned hospitals and treatment facilities, Indianapolis is a beacon for cancer patients around the Midwest.

They come every day fighting back against the disease. Their focus is dominated by doctor appointments, radiation sessions, chemotherapy, surgeries and all of the myriad concerns that come with the life-changing diagnosis.

Worrying about where to stay during treatment is a stress they don’t need. One central Indiana organization wants to ensure they don’t have to.

For the past 11 years, the SON Foundation has dedicated its time and funding to providing adult cancer patients with a place to temporarily call home during treatment. The organization’s Hospitality House is situated in downtown Indianapolis, near many of the major cancer centers offering life-saving treatment.

“The cost of hospitalizations and cancer treatments are exorbitant. Then you’re trying to find a place in Indianapolis that’s affordable to stay, because you have treatments that are scheduled over the course of two weeks, three weeks in a month,” said Alex Freeman, SON Foundation board member. “This is a place for comfort and peace for them.”

Inside the house, guests can find five private guest rooms, three shared bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, an eating space, prayer room, community room with full furnishings — all to create an aura of home.

“We love being able to provide this service, and getting the feedback that this was exactly what they needed at the right time,” said Scott Jacobson, SON Foundation board member. “Sometimes, the housing takes a back seat, but it’s incredibly important. To give people one less thing for people to worry about and take some of that stress away, we’re doing our job if we can do that.”

To help support their mission and the operation of the house, leaders have planned a fundraiser: Pickleball Palooza, a pickleball tournament unfolding on Sept. 21 at Craig Park in Greenwood.

Organizers hope people respond to the tournament in the same ways they’ve supported the foundation in the past.

“When you looking at raising funds and people being willing to give, it just validates the cause,” Freeman said. “It validates that there’s a need for an organization like this, and we want to keep being able to provide that to people who have this kind of need and in many cases are very desperate.”

The SON Foundation was born from a deep friendship and the recognition of a need. Jacobson’s wife, Denise Jacobson, was a fourth-grade teacher at Bunker Hill Elementary School on the southside of Indianapolis, where she shared a classroom with one of her best friends, Tiffany Thompson.

In February 2012, Thompson was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, and as she began treatments, Denise Jacobson did everything she could to support her friend through the ordeal. At the end of the school year, Thompson decided to end her teaching career in order to heal. Denise Jacobson also took a year leave to be available for her friend.

During her time off, Denise Jacobson decided to step away from her teaching job, searching for her life’s next step by volunteering with a variety of organizations, including Ronald McDonald House Charities.

A conversation with a Ronald McDonald House manager opened her eyes to a pressing need going unmet.

“She asked them if there was a need they saw that was being unmet, and someone casually mentioned that they felt bad because they had adults who called the house sometimes looking for a place to stay, and they had to tell them no, but didn’t know an alternative to tell them,” Scott Jacobson said.

The idea was to create something similar to the Ronald McDonald House, only it would be available to adult patients and their caregivers. The Jacobsons started putting in motion the mechanics of starting a nonprofit, including finding a structure they could transform into the Hospitality House.

Friends and other supporters joined their mission, and 2013, a house was purchased and the group was registered as an official 501(c)3 nonprofit.

The name they chose for the organization is loaded with meaning.

When Thompson and Denise Jacobson were teaching, their classroom was known as the “SON Room,” stemming from the suffix at the end of each of their last names.

But they also used SON as an acronym for “Serving Others’ Needs” — a value at the heart of the foundation’s work.

Every aspect of the house reflects that value.

“It’s more of a home environment than a sterile hospital or a hotel room. It’s a disconnect; you walk in, and there’s the living room, dining room, all of those spaces. It allows this opportunity of community if people want to connect with other people,” Freeman said.

The SON Foundation works with area cancer centers at IU Health, Community Health and Franciscan Health, among other health care systems, to get referrals for incoming patients. The lodging is free of charge.

Since it’s establishment, the foundation has provided more than 9,000 nights of lodging for cancer patients. People have come from all over Indiana and the United States, and as far away as Canada and Ukraine.

“The coolest part is when we get feedback from the guests who say something along the lines of, ‘I don’t know what I would have done without this.’ We’ve literally had guests who were living in their cars because they couldn’t find a place to stay,” Scott Jacobson said.

To continue providing their services, the SON Foundation needs to continue to raise funds. The organization hosts a pair of main fundraisers: a gala in the spring, and a sports-related event in the fall. In the past, that fall event has been a kickball tournament.

While successful, organizers were interested in freshening up that option.

“This year, with everybody playing pickleball these days, we thought we’d lean into that,” said Brooke Lockett, events director for the SON Foundation.

The focus for the event was on the southside of Indianapolis; most of the SON Foundation’s donor base is centered there, so organizers wanted to locate pickleball courts in that area.

At Craig Park, they found the perfect place.

“It just worked,” Lockett said. “We’re excited to try something new and tap into the craze right now, but do it for a good cause.”

Registration for Pickleball Palooza is open now, with a $100 per person registration fee. The tournament will feature brackets for women, men and mixed doubles.

Organizers hope the response leads to an even greater impact in the community.

“For us, the desire is to continue to grow and continue to provide more housing because we see that need. Unfortunately we live in a world where that need is growing,” Freeman said.

AT A GLANCE

Pickleball Palooza

What: A pickleball tournament and fundraiser for the SON Foundation, which provides housing for cancer patients who come to Indianapolis during treatment.

When: Sept. 21. Play starts at 9 a.m.

Where: Craig Park, 10 E. Smith Valley Road, Greenwood

Format: All skill levels are welcome. The tournament will be broken up in to brackets for women, men and mixed doubles. Must be at least 13 years old to participate.

Cost: $100 per person. All proceeds benefit the SON Foundation. A registration link can be found at swishtournaments.com/product/son-foundation-pickleball-palooza

Sponsorship: Organizers are still accepting sponsor opportunities. Go to sonfoundationindy.org/pickleball-tournament to learn more.