Already securing business sponsors for its SCRABBLE tournament, Literacy Volunteers of Schoharie County is now looking for teams, judges and volunteers to help with the event.
The tournament, set for March 27 at Radez School in Richmondville, is a major fundraiser for Literacy Volunteers.
Last year’s tournament, the first ever, raised more than $7,000 for the organization.
“And we had a lot of fun doing it,” said Jim Poole, a Literacy Volunteer board member. “That’s what it’s all about––raising money for a good cause and having fun at the same time.”
LVSC has volunteer tutors who teach adults how to read. The group depends heavily on state funds, which have been cut each of the past two years, making local fundraising essential.
Most of the money raised in the SCRABBLE tournament “comes from generous business sponsors,” said Literacy Voluntteers Executive Director Lisa Cardilli.
Board members have been visiting businesses to invite sponsorships over the past week and will continue to do so in February.
The success of the sponsorships last year triggered one change for the tournament for 2010: A much lower team registration fee.
Four-person teams paid $100 each to participate; this year, the registration fee is $60.
“We wanted to include as many people as possible this year, including families, and we hope the reduced registration fee goes a long way towards encouraging more teams to register,” Ms. Cardilli said.
The tournament drew 14 teams last year. This year, LVSC is hoping for 20 teams, who will again compete for hundreds of dollars in cash prizes.
“We’d like to see teams from schools or school boards challenge each other in a friendly way,” Mr. Poole said. “A team from Radez School won the grand prize last year, so that should be some encouragement.”
Literacy Volunteers also learned last year that a key element of the tournament is having enough judges to help with scoring and questions.
Ms. Cardilli hopes to have at least 20 judges and a head judge to help.
She’s also looking for volunteers to help with registration, set-up and other tasks, including selling tiles to teams looking for extra letters.
The commitment is only for about three hours on the 27th, Ms. Cardilli said.
“We had fun with the tournament last year,” Mr. Poole said. “[Radez Principal] Brian Dineen is the emcee, and he’s a blast. And we have raffles and trivia contests along the way. It’s good to be part of it.”
Teams must pre-register to play in the tournament.
Anyone interested in registering as a team, volunteering to help or act as a judge should call Ms. Cardilli at 234-2576.