Fundraising in Full Swing at Metro Detroit Bowling Centers

Sept. 22, 2015 - PRLog -- South Eastern Michigan Bowling Centers Association (SEMBCA (http://sembca.com/)) members have become an integral part of fundraising activities for organizations looking to help beat cancer to high school sports teams trying to defray participation costs.

Walk into any of the SEMBCA member centers this weekend and you’re likely to find fundraising going on, according to SEMBCA Acting Executive Director John Casbar. “It’s a year-round thing, but it’s really highlighted from September to early March.”

Bowling centers can accommodate fundraising groups of all sizes, he added. SEMBCA Vice President Vicki Ingham, who manages Mayflower Lanes (http://www.mayflowerlanes.com/) and Beech Lanes (http://beechlanes.wstemp02.com/) in Redford Township, agreed saying it’s not uncommon to have three people raising funds for fighting breast cancer to Parent Teacher Organizations looking to fund scholarships.

“There has been tremendous growth in fundraising since the economy started to improve in 2009,” said Ingham. “It’s a whole new area for bowling centers, which have done a great job of taking the bull by the horns.”

Area centers do more than just provide space, too. At Mayflower and Beech, event planners work with fundraisers to ensure their events are as successful as possible. “We help the groups organize themselves,” Ingham said. “Many of them are new to fundraising and don’t know how to facilitate the process. We try to provide direction with our expertise.”

League Sign-Up

It’s not too late to sign up for fall youth and adult leagues, Casbar said. Sign-up will be held through mid-October, but can vary from bowling center to bowling center. Casbar said parents should contact their nearest SEMBCA member center (http://sembca.com/) for exact registration information.

Aside from regular league action, he said United States Bowling Congress “standard youth members” with Junior Gold memberships can compete in qualifiers (http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/...) for the national tournament to be held July 2016 in Indianapolis. The idea is to get children bowling. “They’re the future of the game,” Casbar said. “We’ve got to keep it going.”

About the South Eastern Michigan Bowling Centers Association

The bowling centers in Southeast Michigan, from Sterling Heights to South Lyon, are dedicated to raising awareness, promoting participation and enhancing the bowling experience for everyone. Joined together as SEMBCA, it’s growing membership knows that bowling is the only sport where everything required for participation – balls, pins, shoes and refreshments – is available onsite and year-round. For more than 50 years the members of SEMBCA have reached out local communities by providing charitable fund-raising opportunities, corporate employee involvement and wholesome family fun for all ages. Bowling can also be educational, with more than 20 million kids under 17 bowling each year and many going on to the 250 colleges and universities that offer bowling as a sport, with some even benefitting from the $6 million in college bowling scholarships. Learn more at www.sembca.com.