Kentucky Humane Society turns Wiffle Ball event into fundraising day

Jubilee Field will host P.A.W. Ball on June 27 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., turning a Wiffle Ball game into a free, family-friendly fundraiser for the Kentucky Humane Society. Players age 10 and older can sign up the day of the event, a setup that keeps the barrier low for families, casual athletes and anyone who wants to jump in without a long lead-up.

That open-door format is the point. Kentucky Humane Society says proceeds from P.A.W. Ball will support its work, and the event is built to function as both a game and a spectator stop: it is free to play, free to watch and staged in a public setting where people can drop in without committing to a tournament schedule or gala ticket. Jubilee Field says the event is the first official home of P.A.W. Ball, and the venue says KHS will bring an adoptable adult dog to the game, tying the day directly to the organization’s animal-placement mission.

For KHS, the Wiffle Ball field is one more extension of a fundraising calendar that already leans heavily on events. The organization says it is Kentucky’s largest pet adoption agency and the state’s oldest animal welfare organization, founded in 1884, with a mission to champion companion animals and the people who love them through leadership, education and proactive solutions. Its 2026 lineup also includes Pars for Pets on Oct. 12 at the University of Louisville Golf Club, while Waggin’ Tail Festival is billed as the Kentuckiana region’s largest celebration of animals and a major fundraiser for the group.

The choice of Wiffle Ball fits the moment. The Baseball Hall of Fame traces the game’s origins to a summer afternoon in 1953 in Fairfield, Connecticut, when two boys improvised baseball in a backyard. The Strong National Museum of Play says the game was supplied to local stores in 1953 and trademarked as Wiffle. That history of a safer, easier version of baseball, designed for tighter spaces and fewer broken windows, explains why it still works so well as a family fundraiser: simple rules, no hard entry threshold and enough nostalgia to pull in people who might never sign up for a formal competition. For KHS, that blend of accessibility and purpose is the draw, and Jubilee Field gives it a home.