Bowling for a Miracle

Thank you, Friends and Associates!

Because of all of you, the Bowling for a Miracle fundraiser we held on August 25 netted $17,000 that will all go towards building a special needs baseball field in Helena, Alabama.

What a fun event, too! We had about 200 bowlers on 32 teams, including two lanes where we were honored to host our Miracle League bowlers.  These beautiful children and adults and their families represented the hopes of the community that the Helena Miracle League field will soon become a reality.

When we organized this event, we wanted it to be fun for everyone; the goal was to raise money, have fun, and raise awareness of the Helena Miracle League.  The support was overwhelming! In no time, all 32 lanes were claimed, featuring teams comprised of co-workers, friends, neighbors, and family; and the names that came in were creative!  “Gutterly Ridiculous that these Aren’t My Shoes” was awarded a special prize for best name. The first eight people who bowled three strikes in a row, (a “turkey”), were awarded real frozen turkeys; but bad bowling was also awarded, with “Drain Right Guttering” t-shirts for gutterballs and “Banana Split” gift cards for a few who threw gnarly splits.

We were honored to have among us our celebrity special guests Helena’s own American Idol Bo Bice, recording artist Jessica Meuse, and author and motivational hero Noah Galloway. One of the true highlights of the entire event was Bo’s singing the National Anthem with legit hero Noah Galloway standing a few feet behind him; it was moving and respectful. Besides, Bo Bice has major chops; his voice is every bit as wonderful as it was when he thrilled us on American Idol! Helena Miracle League is so proud to have Bo as Ambassador.

But the true special guests of the day were our Miracle League bowlers. These courageous individuals who live every day with disabilities came together to raise thousands of dollars through sponsorships, and they showed up ready to celebrate. And celebrate, we did!  Where else might have Luke and Branson have Happy Birthday sung to them by two American Idols and a Dancing with the Stars finalist? Where else might an enthusiastic T-Rex been bowling alongside us?  Where else might they have been awarded trophies of bowling pins painted like superheroes? We hope the bowlers on our Miracle League lanes took a good look around and enjoyed the notion that all of this was for them, to realize their dream of playing baseball on their own field.

Congratulations and a huge thank you to Country Boyz Heating and Cooling for winning the contest of Most Money Raised, which will bring them a party at Beef O’Bradys in Helena! Congratulations to team Split Happens for winning the bowling competition and to member Brian Sparks for winning the Big Green Egg, (donated by Cantley Heating and Air).

We would like to thank everyone who pulled together to knock this one out of the park! Thank you to our hosts, Oak Mountain Lanes, to our delicious pizza provider All Original Pizza in Helena, to our t-shirt maker Larry Hardemon, to all the Helena Miracle League family of volunteers, and certainly to the companies who co-sponsored with Arcara Residential: Beef O’Bradys, Trustmark Mortgage Services, Scozzaro Law, Country Boyz Heating and Air, and DR Horton Homes; also special thanks to our fabulous emcee Shannon Stevens; to our Celebrity guests Bo, Noah, and Jessica, and to the many who sponsored a lane, volunteered to help, or donated to the Silent Auction!  Without you the event would not have been a smashing success.

What a great time it is to get involved with the Helena Miracle League; exciting times are in our near future, and if you want to be a part of it in any way, please check us out! Helena Miracle League, President Mary Chambliss, helenamiracles@hotmail.com, 615-300-3047.

Golfers, make plans to participate in Helena Miracle League 2nd Annual Golf Outing, October 8 at Timberline;contact Andy Healy at ahealy@selectivemgmt.com.

Stay tuned for another bowling event next year, same time and place!

Donna and Greg Arcara

A few fun photos: