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Four Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy cadets organized a bowl-athon for Baker Youth Club for their community service project because of the impact the organization has on the community.
Warsaw Community High School juniors Isaiah VanPuffelen, Alex Cook, Dominic Smith and Royce Smith organized Bowling for Baker, to be held May 19 at The Bowling Alley, 1535 N. Detroit St., Warsaw.
“It’s going to have bowling and a raffle, and it’s just going to try and get the community involved in Baker Youth Club and get them excited about what they’re doing there, and raise some money for the benefit of the kids,” Cook said.
Dominic Smith said, “We know several people that have gone to the Baker Youth Club in the past and it’s really helped them out, whether it’s with homework or they need somewhere to go after school or just somewhere to go to blow off steam after school. It’s just kind of always there for people, and they need it the most, and it really shaped a lot of kids in our community.”
Bowling for Baker will be from 1 to 3 p.m. May 19. Pre-registration admission is $10; admission is $12 at the door. The cost includes two games, shoe rental and two raffle tickets. To pre-register, stop in at BYC, 1401 E. Smith St., Warsaw, or email your name and contact information to bowlingforbaker2018@gmail.com and pay the $10 pre-registration fee at the door.
“We’re trying to encourage people to pre-register so we have a better idea (of how many are participating), and you save money,” Cook said.
Dominic Smith said, “We want to pack the whole place.”
VanPuffelen said different businesses around the community have contributed or sponsored prizes for the raffle, ranging from gift cards to a grab bag “of cool stuff” from Green Earth Multisport, he said. The prizes will be raffled over the course of the two-hour event. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased at the event for $1 each.
He said the group chose bowling because it’s something everyone can enjoy.
“We enjoy going bowling just because it brings a lot of people together, and it’s something that people of pretty much any age can do, so we thought it would attract a wide audience of people,” VanPuffelen said.
Cook said, “It’s one of those things that you can get the whole family involved. Even if you’re not good at it, you can still go and have a good time doing it.”
The cadets agreed the community was very supportive of their service project.
“We went around to a lot of businesses looking for donations for raffle prizes and stuff like that, and it seemed like a lot of places that we went to were super enthusiastic to support our cause,” Cook said.
Dominic Smith said if a business couldn’t give something right away, “they always said, ‘OK, well come back and we’ll talk to you.’ And they’d always point us in the right direction and showed us who else would be willing to help out.”
Cook said there’s not a lot of expenses for the event itself because all the raffle prizes were donated and The Bowling Alley has the infrastructure to handle large groups.
“It’s mostly the marketing leading up to it that’s the main expense for us,” he said.
As for how much money they’d like to raise for BYC, Cook said, “As much as possible.”
“We never really looked up a projected revenue for it, but anything and all donations and revenue that we make will be awesome because it all just goes back to the BYC,” Royce Smith said.
“No matter how much we get, it’s all appreciated,” Dominic Smith said.
KYLA was formed to encourage the growth, education, training and motivation of future leaders to meet the challenges of development and expansion in Kosciusko County, according to its website at www.kosciuskoyouthleadership.org. Along with area businesses, KYLA offers the opportunity for each student to experience various areas of the community, from government and health care to social services and agribusiness.
