Back in the early 1990s, a bunch of volleyball geeks from the Mid-Hudson Valley trekked up to Burlington, VT to, you guessed it, play some volleyball. Following the tournament, we visited the Ben and Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT and were struck by the company's commitment to the community. Inspired by their vision and actions, we decided to organize a charity volleyball tournament to benefit a local cause. After a bit of searching, we decided to assist the local homeless shelter - the Dutchess Count Coalition for the Homeless (DCCH) in Poughkeepsie, NY. Our first event, a one-day tournament in September of 1993, raised over $2000 for DCCH, and "Rooftime" was born!

Over the years, our event has grown substantially, and we are now a two-day event tournament with Mens and Womens doubles on Saturday and reverse-coed and 4s games on Sunday.

All the proceeds from the tournament (including registration fees and monies from T-shirt and cookie sales) go directly to DCCH, and we rely on merchants to donate the prizes we award to the winners of the various divisions. In 2005, we raised over $7700 for the shelter, and we hope to break the $8000 mark this year.