NEW JERSEY —
On Sunday, June 26, 2022, the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation hosted a ping pong fundraiser tournament with Princeton Pong in Princeton, NJ. The family-friendly event featured information booths and activities about WeLoveU’s education, environment, and health programs, games, food trucks, face painting, raffles, and the main attraction — the ping pong tournament.
“We’re excited to host the International WeLoveU Foundation at Princeton Pong and give back to the community through the incredible sport of Table Tennis!” said Princeton Pong General Manager Ben Rosenberg.
The idea for the event stems from WeLoveU’s 2019 Health and Wellness Expo. “We wanted to recreate the event but make it more interactive and engaging,” said Alexandria Lee-Laguerre, director of marketing. “It evolved through conversations with our volunteers, and we decided that ping pong would be a great way for people to stay active and healthy while also enjoying themselves and learning about opportunities to give to the community.”
WeLoveU volunteers explained that table tennis draws people out from their technology bubbles, strengthens relationships, recharges minds, and sharpens reflexes. The Foundation’s goal is to raise $100,000 through the fundraising event, and net proceeds will support WeLoveU’s missions and initiatives. Notable campaigns include: the Clean and Green Project, transforming a vacant lot into a green space in Philadelphia; the Packs on Backs and Tools for Schools project, providing students with necessary school supplies; the Clean WORLD Movement, planting 100,000 trees by 2030.
Event sponsors include Princeton Pong, Melkonian Capital Management, SFI HVAC Solutions, 13D Research & Strategy, Modfemina, Calderwood Capital, AoPS Academy Princeton, TOVA Community Health, Harmony Health & Wellness, Soccer Shots, Stumpy’s Hatchet House, the Table Tennis Store, Whole Foods, Starbucks, GorJess Hair Salon, Princeton Theatre, Kilwins, Casa Aziz Salon, the New York Knicks, Robert Castillo Photos, Barnes & Noble, Frito-Lay, Stop & Shop, Target, Witherspoon Grill Restaurant, Ihop, Longhorn Steakhouse, Chili’s, Price Chopper, Adam’s Fairacre Farms, Lowe’s, BJ’s, Dunkin Donuts, On the Border, and Buffalo Wild Wings.
About the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation
Founder and Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah established the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation in 2001 — which is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC) — as a vehicle to deliver a mother’s love to neighbors in need. The Chairwoman took a grassroots approach by personally interacting with and caring for the needs of the global village. Through the initiatives of emergency relief, education, environmental protection, health, international aid, and community well-being, the Chairwoman’s example of giving a mother’s love has spread from the east to the west and planted itself in more than 50 countries to inspire a healthy and hopeful future for many. For more information, visit weloveuusa.org and follow @weloveuusa.
About Princeton Pong
Princeton Pong is an elite table tennis facility that offers USATT-sanctioned tournaments to provide well-structured opportunities for competitive match play. The club was opened by avid table tennis enthusiast and entrepreneur, Flint Lane, and his 3-time US Olympian coach, David Zhuang, in the summer of 2014. Together, they created a space to play ping pong, with the intention of growing a community business, as well as nurturing people’s enjoyment of the sport. For more information visit www.princetonpong.com.
