Elementary bowling tournament raises funds for annual Hoagies for Humanity

The first-ever Bowl for Humanity tournament will provide fun, competition and service for students in first through fifth grade

The Washington Township community every year rallies together for one of its largest annual service projects, the Super Bowl Hoagie Sale. Through raising money for local families in need, while also providing hoagies for the less fortunate across South Jersey with Hoagies for Humanity, the project continues to grow substantially with every year that passes.

On Sunday, Jan. 14, the newly implemented elementary Future Acts Clubs and Washington Township High School Students in Action will join together for the first-ever Bowl for Humanity Elementary Bowling Tournament, a fun, competitive service event for students in first through fifth grade. The $10 participation fee will raise money for Hoagies for Humanity with the hopes of being able to donate more hoagies than ever to homeless shelters and those in need this February.

“I’m looking forward to having a chance to give back and help others,” Hurffville Elementary School fifth-grader Matthew Pagano said. “The more people who care, the more people feel good. It makes me feel good to know other people are happy in the world and know others care for them.”

Orchard Valley Middle School teacher Ron Lucarini said the idea for a bowling tournament sparked when his preschool-aged granddaughter attended a bowling birthday party.

“I wanted it to be fun for the kids, but at the same time, they’d be performing a service because the money to participate is going to go to Hoagies for Humanity,” Lucarini said.

The hoagie sale partnered with Hoagies for Humanity, sponsored by Inspira Hospital which donated approximately $5,000 last year, to expand their reach in donating hoagies to those in need. In addition to Hoagies for Humanity, hundreds of hoagies are donated through grants paid for by the Washington Township Education Association, Pay It Forward and Helping Hands.

“What we do with these various donations is identify places all over South Jersey where we can deliver these hoagies,” Lucarini said. “This year, our goal is to hit $15,000, which would be 1,500 hoagies to give out throughout the region.”

Having these hoagies pre-paid, the release said, helps increase profit for the hoagie sale, which will eventually be distributed to local families suffering from medical illnesses or struggling financially due to unforeseen circumstances, such as house fires or loss. Last year, the hoagie sale benefited approximately 31 families in need; Lucarini said there is already a growing list of at least 16 families for this year.

With 24 spots available for each grade level in each township elementary school, the students participating have the chance to raise thousands of dollars on top of the sponsor contributions for this year’s efforts.

“They’re having fun, there’s a little competition but the kids are performing a community service at the same time for a good cause,” Lucarini said.

Volunteers from Washington Township High School Students in Action will be on site to assist students throughout the event. According to advisor Eisa Jackson, the older students will be acting as role models with hopes of showing the younger students there are even more opportunities to give back as they progress through school.

“It’s important for everyone to recognize we need to help one another and not be selfish,” Jackson said. “If we start this at a young age, and they do something that is fun and they realize they are helping the community, I think that can carry on with them as they get older.”

Participating students will also have the opportunity to play in the bonus prize lanes, where highest scores are rewarded with fun prizes, medals, free pizza, ice cream, bowling and a getaway for mom and dad. The school with the highest total score for the day will win an ice cream party for their entire school.

Hurffville Elementary School second grader Marco Esgro said he looks forward to bowling with his friends, but most of all he wants to play to raise money for the “kids who are sick in the hospitals.”

“It’s nice to do something for someone else,” Marco said.

Giovanna DeVito, a fifth-grader at Hurffville Elementary School, said she would encourage her classmates to sign up for the tournament because “they can get a little taste of what it feels like if they’ve never given back before.”

“I like to give back because more people are losing more stuff every year, and no matter what, you should always help other people,” Giovanna said.

The tournament will be held at Brunswick Zone Turnersville Lanes from 9 a.m. to noon, with 45-minute sessions per grade level. For more information on how to sign up, visit www.thecowproject.org, and click “Elementary Bowling Tournament.”