Bowling for Bethany
Community fundraiser rolling right along
It was bowling mania Monday at Jack's House in Brainerd and Community Bowl in Pine River.
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About 700 people bowled in the Good Samaritan Bowl V, including nearly 60 third-graders from Baxter and Riverside elementary schools and Stephen Larson, a Baxter resident with two prosthetic arms, who volunteers every Saturday at Bethany Good Samaritan Center in Brainerd.
Teams of bowlers raised money to benefit Bethany's care centers and hospice services, including Bethany Good Samaritan Center in Brainerd, Woodland Good Samaritan Center in Brainerd, the Pine River Care Center and Good Samaritan Hospice in Nisswa.
Stephen Larson of Baxter, who has prosthetic arms, watched his bowling ball Monday after he released it during Good Samaritan Bowl V at Jack's House in Brainerd. Larson volunteers at Bethany Good Samaritan Center every Saturday, where he sings, reads and visits with the residents. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Liz Csanda, Bethany community relations director, said, "This is the fifth year we've been doing this and it's our key feature event. We also call this our 'friendraiser' because our bowling fundraiser started out just with our staff and it grew into a community fundraiser."
The first year of the event, $10,000 was raised for a van for the Samaritan House. Last year the event expanded to the Pine River bowling alley and $48,000 was raised. In the past four years, $101,000 has been raised for Bethany.
This year, $64,262 was raised, said Csanda.
Csanda said every year Bethany adds a new element to the fundraiser. This year another afternoon bowling shift was added and a raffle was started. The event also included a silent auction and bake sale.
"We try to add these type of things every year to give people who can't bowl a chance to support us," said Csanda. "This gives them another capacity to volunteer."
Csanda said, "If your heart has been touched by Bethany this (event) is a way to say thank you. Our theme this year is 'Touching Lives, Lifting Spirits.'"
Csanda's granddaughter, Jessie Ernster, was one of 26 students from Mary Ann Mark's third-grade class from Baxter, which raised money and bowled. Jessie and another classmate, Chloe Craigie, sold 131 raffle tickets for the event and helped set up Sunday.
Amy Ryan bowled Monday at Jack's House in Brainerd for Good Samaritan Bowl V, a fundraiser to benefit the Good Samaritan Centers in Brainerd and Pine River and its hospice programs. Ryan bowled on the St. Joseph's Medical Center team, which raised $400. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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"We like to help people," said Chloe. "It was fun."
The third-grade class created a recipe book for Bethany. The theme was what makes a grandparent. Jessie's recipe included 15 big handfuls of love, seven pounds of laughter and five quarts of fun. Chloe's recipe included 15 gallons of generosity, 100 pounds of sweetness and 500 pounds of love.
Karen Schirmer's third-grade class at Riverside created a book for Bethany on why grandparents are special.
Schirmer said the event was a great experience for the students who raised money for Bethany, especially because the students spend time with 78-year-old Alice Gibson, who volunteers in Schirmer's classroom.
Larson, who bowled on the Bethany Gift Shop team, said he sings, reads and visits the residents at Bethany and he wanted to bowl to support Bethany even more.
Riverside Elementary School third-grader Avery Davidge took aim with her bowling ball at the Good Samaritan Bowl V Monday at Jack's House. Third-graders from Baxter and Riverside elementary schools raised money through pledges to bowl in the event. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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"It makes me feel good to volunteer," said Larson. "Of all the gifts that God gave us we should show our gratitude every day with events like this."
Larson said he became interested in volunteering through his mother, Peggy Larson, who was the Crow Wing County volunteer coordinator.
Daniel Pulak, who was on Larson's team, said he raised $700. Pulak has bowled every year in the event and said he bowls for his grandpa, Cliff Boeder, who lives at Bethany.
You couldn't miss St. Joseph's Medical Center's bowling team during the first shift. Their bright yellow shirts read, "Ball in gutter, bad. Mind in gutter, good."
"We thought it was catchy and it's a bowling saying," said Amy Ryan of the SJMC team that consisted of Ryan, Dr. James Delong, Debbie Anderson and Tina Bradford.
This is the first year St. Joseph's bowled. Last year Ryan and Anderson volunteered at the event and thought it'd be fun to start a team.
The team, which raised $400, called themselves, "Jimmy and the Miss Behavens," and Delong wore a Jimmy bowling shirt and the women were named Pixie, Dixie and Trixie.
Ryan said supporting Bethany means a lot to her. She said her first job at age 16 was working at the former Kingwood Good Samaritan Center in Brainerd.
"It was awesome," said Ryan. "I had the best job in high school. They've always been so good to me."
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.