Bowling for Books Is Big Hit

was packed on Friday night with dozens of people coming out to a event to benefit the . Library staff and board members, along with their families, friends and other supporters, crowded into teams to play and eat for a good cause.

Paula Kelly, Director of the Whitehall Library, said that she came up with the idea for Bowling for Books after she received an email from the Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Chamber of Commerce explaining fundraising packages offered by the owners of Legacy Lanes.

When Kelly toured the facility and spoke with co-owner Melissa Scheiwer, Kelly couldn’t resist the chance to partner with the bowling center to raise funds for her library.

What scored big with Kelly was the extensive fundraising experience and favorable fee arrangements offered by Legacy Lanes, which has various levels of fundraising packages available, including the bowling-and-pizza package that the library selected.

For $20 per ticket, bowlers received two hours of bowling and shoes rental, and each team enjoyed a large homemade pizza and a pitcher of soda pop. Approximately 40 percent of each ticket price went to benefit the library, with the remainder covering Legacy Lanes’ costs.

Scheiwer explained that this arrangement is a very straightforward, effective and family-friendly way to raise a lot of money for a cause.

Past philanthropy at Legacy Lanes has included benefits for the American Cancer Society, Animal Friends and many other charitable organizations. An event to benefit wounded police officer Jim Kuzak is on the calendar for June 17. (UPDATE: Kuzak event has since been canceled.)

The Whitehall Library’s Bowling for Books event can now be added to that list of successful fundraisers held at Legacy Lanes. Whitehall Library Board President Mike Romano, who shared a lane with his grandchildren, saidd that the evening was a huge achievement.

In addition to praising the event’s effect at raising money, Romano said, “It’s a great opportunity for people at the library to meet other library families and members of the community, and for everyone to get together and have a lot of fun.”

This was the first time that the Whitehall Library held a bowling fundraiser, but according to Romano, it probably won’t be the last.

Staci Zemaitis, the library’s special events coordinator, agreed with Romano.

Zemaitis, who is responsible for organizing and executing most of the library’s fundraisers, is looking forward to planning another bowling event next year and hopes that Bowling for Books will become an annual tradition.

The inaugural event appealed to people of all ages, both within and outside the local community. Bowlers from as far away as Washington, PA, and Greensburg rolled in to support the library.

Baldwin-Whitehall mom Kelli DeLallo hit the lanes with her husband and three children. DeLallo said that her family loves bowling almost as much as it loves its local library. So, an event that appealed to both of those interests was right up its alley (pun intended).

The DeLallo family joined a catalog of other teams that stretched across 20 of Legacy Lanes’ lanes. Teams consisted of two to five members apiece.

Bowlers played for fun, not contest. There was, however, a great deal of competition to win a 50-50 drawing and a raffle for a lottery-ticket gift basket.

Denise Hulbert, the Whitehall Library’s technical services specialist, handed out paper trophies. Some were to recognize special efforts like kids’ high scores; others were gag acknowledgements for things like “Worst Score” and “Most Gutter Balls.”

If you missed out on Bowling for Books, you won’t want to miss out on the library’s other upcoming fundraisers, such as a duck pond and ring toss at ’s Community Day in August, a flea market in September and a Blow-Out Book Sale, also in September.