About - Serve For Strength | Together, we serve. Together, we grow stronger.

WHO WE ARE

Serve For Strength

Began in September 2024 after founder Valerie faced two major ankle bone surgeries that changed the course of her life. Determined to turn her pain into purpose, she launched her first pickleball fundraiser to support the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Foot & Ankle Department—the incredible team that helped her through her tough recovery.

Serve for Strength was founded to support those facing health challenges.

we believe in

Turning adversity into advocacy

Strengthening communities through sport

Inspiring others who face long roads to recovery

Supporting world-class medical teams and organizations

Every swing, serve, and smile brings us closer to helping someone reclaim their mobility and their life.

Valerie's Inspirational Journey

Valerie Rose Simon

Founder & Pro Pickleball Player

“My name is Valerie Rose, and I’m a 17-year-old from Florida (Originally New York). I’ve made my mark on the world not only with a powerful forehand on the tennis and pickleball courts, but through an unshakable determination to make a difference. I rose quickly to become one of the top-ranked national junior tennis players—until my dreams were suddenly put on hold by multiple bone fractures and misdiagnoses leading to two major bone surgeries less than a year apart from each other…”

Focus

When one door closed, another opened. Valerie discovered pickleball, first as a new hobby, later as a community, and now as a source of joy playing as a Professional Pickleball Player. Even after a temporary injury (due to the nerves not being back on-line yet) forced her to pause playing pickleball recently (for 4 months), she returned with more determination than ever.

Today, she continues to seek healing with the support of family, friends, and the uplifting energy of pickleball. Her mission remains rooted in gratitude. She founded Serve For Strength to help others get back on their feet. She is dedicated to the premise that no one should have to suffer alone; that through community – we can make this world a better place.

Hope

The event was a celebration of hope, healing, and community—paddles swinging, laughter echoing across the courts, and supporters raising funds for a life-changing cause. But Valerie’s journey didn’t end there. When tennis became too painful to return to, she faced unexpected setbacks yet kept moving forward with grit, grace, and a deep belief that purpose can grow from hardship.

GET INVOLVED

Serve For Strength is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming medical adversity into community advocacy. Through high-energy sporting events-primarily centered around Pickleball and Golf. We raise vital funds for the hospitals, research foundations, and advocacy organizations dedicated to overcoming health challenges.

Become A Sponsor

Sponsorships help us continue building community, expanding outreach, and creating change.

SUPPORT OUR CAUSE

Serve For Strength was founded to support those facing health challenges.