Alley rally: Bowling event will warm seniors' hearts - and more
At 97, Andy Thomas said he would love to bowl in the Good Samaritan Bowl VI on May 4. But the Round Lake resident gave up bowling when he was 85.
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Still, that hasn't stopped him from doing all he can to raise funds for a cause that is close to his heart - to purchase five blanket-warming cabinets for Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd. The units cost about $5,000 each.
Thomas volunteered Monday for the "Alley Rally" kickoff at Bethany, an opportunity for the more 700 bowling team members already signed up to pick up their pledge packets for the fund-raising bowling event May 4 and to enjoy some pizza and win prizes.
Andy Thomas, 97, explained what a blanket-warming cabinet was Monday at the "Alley Rally" at Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd. Brainerd Dispatch/ Kelly Humphrey » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Thomas sat next to the lone blanket-warming cabinet Bethany owns; the nursing home hopes to purchase five more warmers just like it so each nursing station has its own with proceeds it receives from the bowl-a-thon. The warmers heat blankets to a toasty 122 degrees so residents who are cold or sick are enveloped in warmth when they need it.
Thomas used warmed blankets after he recently had a pacemaker implanted at a Twin Cities hospital. His wife, Dorothy, who is 101 and lives at Bethany, is always cold and would love to be covered in warmed blankets, Thomas said. The couple has been married 75 years; he visits her nearly every day.
"All you want to do is relax," Thomas said of the warmed blankets. "They're wonderful. You don't feel sick again."
Forestview Builders Club members, all seventh- and eighth-graders, designed bowling pin art that will be auctioned off at the Good Samaritan Bowl VI on May 4 at Jack's House in Brainerd. Brainerd Dispatch/ Kelly Humphrey » Purchase reprints of this photo.
The Good Samaritan Bowl raises funds for all three Good Samaritan Centers - Bethany, Woodland and Pine River - as well as Good Samaritan Home Care and Hospice. Last year, the bowling event raised $65,000. The goal this year is $50,000, said Tina Dunlap, Bethany community relations coordinator.
Proceeds will be used to purchase blanket-warming cabinets at Bethany, resident room remodeling at Woodland, remodeling of the commons area at Pine River and for pediatric equipment and family support programs at Good Samaritan Home Care and Hospice.
An addition to the Alley Rally and the bowling event was bowling pin art created by the seventh- and eighth-grade members of the Builders Club at Forestview Middle School. The 20 repurposed bowling pins from Jack's House were decorated by the students to represent a real or fictional character, animal, mechanical object or other unique concept. Each student was given a $10 card in advance for supplies to help create a piece of art. Thomas and his wife sponsored the bowling pin art project, which was unveiled at the rally.
Zach Hanson, a Forestview eighth-grader, attended the rally to check out his bowling pin, which featured an environmental theme. Other pins were masterfully decorated as a loon, peacock, hula dancer, giraffe and penguin.
"I think they're really cool," Hanson said of the bowling pins. "I'd never really seen a bowling pin up close before."
Dalen Hodge, Forestview Builders Club advisor and earth science teacher, said the students had a great time decorating the pins. He was particularly proud when people would stop to check out the bowling pin art and make remarks about the various designs.
"I just want to say they're my kids, my kids," Hodge said with a smile. "I'm proud of them. They went beyond my imagination and beyond my ability. The kids are just talented. They just amaze me."
The rally was held in the new Bethany community room, which was remodeled using proceeds from last year's fundraiser. Bethany also used its funds from last year's event to remodel the former activities room into the Garden View Lounge, a peaceful place where residents may relax and look out at the nursing home's gardens.
For more information about the bowling event and to bid on auction items like the bowling pin art, visit the new Web site, www.goodsambowl.com.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.