This National Volunteer Week, J.D. Irving, Limited is recognizing the many contributions its employees make to their communities.

By day, Kumar Raghav is a Team Leader of Data Solutions Development in the J.D. Irving, Limited IT Division. Outside of work, Kumar’s life revolves around pickleball, a racquet sport played with a hard paddle and a plastic ball with holes.

“Pickleball is like my second life. Every day after I finish my eight to five job, I am organizing, coaching or playing pickleball,” Kumar said.

A national, provincial and Atlantic Canada medalist, Kumar and his team have been instrumental in growing the sport in the Saint John, New Brunswick region. He helped found the Pickleball Saint John club and has worked with the City to establish pickleball courts in Saint John.

Kumar first came to Canada from India to take an MBA. He joined J.D. Irving, Limited in 2015. During those early years, Kumar started playing sports to meet new people and become better acquainted with the community. Eventually he stumbled upon pickleball, a sport that came naturally to him.

In 2019, Kumar won his first national gold medal in men’s doubles. He’s since added two silvers and a bronze to that total.

Winning the gold medal at nationals was a turning point for Kumar, who then decided to use the sport to give back to his community.

Last year, through PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) program, Kumar provided a total of 18 pickleball learning lessons to students at six  low-income schools over a period of six months. Through these sessions, some of the schools were able to apply for grants to purchase their own pickleball equipment, allowing students to continue playing the sport.

“How do you teach the whole city to play pickleball? You build an ecosystem around it,” Kumar said.

Kumar applies the same approach to his leadership role at work. When newcomers join his team, he makes sure that they receive the necessary information to build social connections and set down roots in their new community.

 “I will go to the level to make sure they feel more involved so they will settle here longer,” he said. “It benefits everybody.”