Butler community goes bowling at YMCA event
BUTLER TWP — When it comes to providing people with sports, swimming and many other opportunities, the Butler County Family YMCA is looking to deliver a strike with the help of the community.
The YMCA hosted another year of its spring event, Bowl for the Kids, on Sunday afternoon, March 1, at the Family Fun Bowlaway Center in Butler Township. The event has been a longstanding tradition for many as it first kicked off in the 1990s.
Christina Dreher, marketing and development director for Butler County Family YMCA Association, said the event had over 100 bowlers take to the lanes during this year’s event. The event also featured 50/50 and basket raffles, as well as a silent auction.
While tickets were still selling, Dreher said the YMCA raised “tens of thousands” of dollars Sunday. Last year, she estimated they raised about $20,000 from the event.
“It’s because of programs like this and our fundraising that we’re able to offer free and discounted YMCA memberships and programs to families, kids, seniors, you name it,” she said.
Dreher said she remembers a time when a woman and her father, who is battling Parkinson’s disease, wanted to enroll in the YMCA but could only afford to pay $10 per month. Thanks to fundraising, the YMCA was able to grant a scholarship for them both to attend and now they do so daily.
The event was not only supported by a wide range of sponsors whose logos adorned the lanes, but by regular YMCA members, families and volunteers.
“Butler is such a small town, but we do such big things. And I think it’s only because we do it together. You see it not only with the YMCA but the chamber of commerce, our local banks, everyone,” Dreher said.
While lane upon lane was filled with people playing, one team decided to commemorate it with a specialized T-shirt. It reads the team’s name, “Splits and Giggles,” with caricatures of the six members and the tagline “Bowl — Laugh — Repeat.”
“I’m a member of the Cranberry Y. I go every day. Anything that we can do to support the Y, especially for the children, we will,” Lynne Vilella, one of the team’s members, said.
She explained the group met playing pickleball about 4 or 5 years ago but decided they wanted to support the Bowl for the Kids event. Sunday marked their second year attending and hopes seemed high for them to return.
“We play much better pickleball,” Vilella said with a laugh. “That’s why we’re called ‘Splits and Giggles,’ because we just try to have fun.”
