On Saturday, March 12, 2011 about 375 Tacoma Public Utilities employees along with their friends and families gathered at Pacific Lanes to bowl in Tacoma Public Utilities 2011 Bowl-a-Thon that benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound. This annual event is planned each year by dedicated Tacoma Public Utilities employees who willingly donate their time and efforts to make the event a success. They collect raffle prizes, coordinate volunteers, and recruit bowlers along with many other details. This year the event lasted from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm and raised over $21,000 to benefit over 10,000 youth in the region!
The day was full of bowling fun and entertainment with raffle tickets sold for $1 for a foot. For the second year in a row, the bowl-a-thon shirts featured a design by a Club member. Children were entertained by Tacoma Rainier’s mascot, Rhubarb the Reindeer and Tacoma Public Utilities mascot, Louie the Lightning Bug, who spent the afternoon greeting kids and bowlers as well as handing out raffle prizes to the lucky winners. The event was a great way to get community members together for a great cause, our youth.
Keith Wawrin, a Tacoma Public Utilities employee and member of the Community Connection Leadership Team who helped coordinate the event, looks forward to bowl-a-thon day every year. “These boys and girls are our future. I can’t think of a better way to invest in our future than by supporting them any way that we can. By showing the kids that we care about them and are willing to support their futures we can only hope that when the time comes these young men and women will pay it forward.”
“It is so great to see the individual employees of Tacoma Public Utilities support our Clubs, our kids, and our mission. With the help of organizations such as Tacoma Public Utilities the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound can continue to provide quality programs for the youth that we serve. Everyone within our organization appreciates all of the support Tacoma Public Utilities has shown over the years,” stated Mark Starnes, President/CEO for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.
This event would not have been possible without the sponsors and their hard work. The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound would like to thank sponsors Tacoma Public Utilities, Pacific Lanes, and Coca Cola. Raffle items were also donated by Air Gas, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Classy Chassis, Corina Bakery, Erika Tucci, The Grand Cinema, Hello, Cupcake, Ivar’s, Jimmy Johns, Panera Bread, Shelley Roberts, and Sherry Berreth.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound benefits 10,000 children and teens at 9 branches and 7 outreach sites in Pierce, Mason, and Kitsap Counties. The Clubs offer programs designed to enhance personal growth and education, tutoring, computer skills, delinquency prevention, the arts, sports training, league involvement, and much more. Through quality professional staff and a fun, positive environment, the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound assist thousands of kids in developing much needed life skills, self-esteem, and positive values. For more information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, please call (253) 502-4600 or go online to www.bgcsps.org.