Junior Brandon Wetterlin said it is rewarding and enjoyable to volunteer at various  charity events, including his most recent volunteering position at the Reach for Resources Bowl-a-thon.

“I love volunteering in general, especially with friends because then it is like hanging out with just a little bit of work involved,” Wetterlin said. “At (the Bowl-a-thon) I was a lane attendant. So I helped anyone who needed help with bowling or getting balls. I cheer them on and notify people if they won a prize.”

According to Emily Orr, Director of Adaptive Recreation and Inclusion at Reach for Resources, the purpose of the Bowl-a-thon April 13 at Park Tavern was to fundraise for Reach for Resources’ future events and to generate community involvement.

“It is a fundraising event, so it helps fund the recreation program to help us keep the costs low for participants,” Orr said. “But it is also a community engagement event. We like it to be a unified event, so you will see bowlers with and without disabilities, community members alongside board members, alongside regular participants.”

Orr said participants had the opportunity to win prizes donated from local businesses.

“We ask a lot of businesses for in-kind donations, so we get a lot of gift cards to restaurants and stores,” Orr said. “Based on how much people fundraise for the event they get a prize worth a certain amount.”

Wetterlin said events like the Bowl-a-thon are important because they include activities for people with disabilities.

“(These kinds of events) are important because, from what I have noticed, people who are mentally or physically disabled don’t have access to many events purely for fun,” Wetterlin said. “There is a lot of time spent helping them with their daily life, and this is a more fun activity for everyone to do.”

According to Orr, Reach for Resources hopes to advocate for people with developmental disabilities.

“We really believe strongly in community inclusion for people with disabilities, so events like this really help to make that possible,” Orr said. “It helps to spread the word about disability rights and disability inclusion, so that those with disabilities can have the best quality of life they can (have).”

Orr said Reach for Resources is open to community member involvement.

“We are always taking volunteers and interns, so that is a great way to get involved,” Orr said. “It is just a really fun group of people who are all there to have fun; it’s a great environment.”

Wetterlin said people should get involved in events like the Bowl-a-thon because it helps other people enjoy themselves.

“It helps other people have fun. You can have fun in the process, and it is just a good way to help the community,” Wetterlin said.

According to Orr, the program has been running for a 27 years, allowing some friendly competition to arise between fundraiser participants.

“We have been doing this a really long time,” Orr said. “There is some fierce competition between some fundraisers — we have a couple who always get over $1000 in pledges every year.”

For more information about Reach for Resources, contact them through their website.