Pong-a-Thon returns Oct. 12 - raising money to help refugee resettlement in western MA

WHAT: Pong-A-Thon to support refugees in Northampton

WHEN: Friday, October 12, from 7am-6:30pm
WHERE: Zing! Table Tennis Center, 122 Pleasant Street, Easthampton

Want to do something to help refugees living in Northampton? People who've escaped from the foulest regimes on earth with just the shirts on their backs? 

Come to the Pong-A-Thon!  On Friday, October 12, from 7am-6:30pm WHMP morning host Bob Flaherty is taking on all challengers for nearly 12 straight hours of ping pong at Zing! Table Tennis in Easthampton.   All proceeds from the event support Catholic Charities' fund for Welcoming Refugees Resettlement Project in Northampton.

For $50 people can challenge Bob Flaherty. Locally notable challengers already include Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan. Plus nearly-elected legislators like Jo Comerford and Lindsay Sabadosa. There will be special challenge grants hours funded by Dean’s Beans, Sylvester's Restaurant, and Greenfield Savings Bank. To reserve a challenge time against Bob email him directly, bflaherty@whmp.com. 

For $15 people can play with friends on one of Zing!’s state-of-the-art tables. They even have a table for people who use wheelchairs. 

“When I think about young men like Guylain and Olivier Ngoy, who spent 14 years in a sweltering refugee camp in Burundi, I can't help feeling a jolt of pride -- that this is the America they will know” upon moving to Northampton, says Flaherty. “The America of Look Park and the Pedal People and the Young at Heart Chorus. And I know that THIS America is the one that'll show up on Oct. 12.”  

The Pong-A-Thon takes place in Zing! Table Tennis Center, 122 Pleasant Street, Easthampton. All players are welcome to walk in, donate and play. 

For more information visit www.whmp.com. Donate to support refugee resettlement in Northampton any time: https://diospringfield.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/WRRProject