LEWISTOWN - It was a beautiful, crisp day Wednesday when golfers from around the area convened at the Lewistown Country Club for the fifth annual charity golf tournament hosted by the Rotary Club of Lewistown.
Those involved in the tournament got to experience fellowship, competition and a nice round of golf, but more importantly, got to help raise funds for the Mifflin County Library, which is this year's primary recipient of tournament proceeds.
"We probably raised in the neighborhood of around $5,000," Mick Abrashoff, rotarian and organizer of the tournament, said.
Article Photos
Sentinel photos by SARAH WHITESEL
Susan Miriello, left, the Children’s and Young Adult Librarian for the Mifflin County Library accepts the Rotary Club of Lewistown’s donation during the fifth annual Rotary Club golf tournament banquet.
Abrashoff explained that most of these proceeds will go toward purchasing more than 100 books for the children's section of the library.
"A large portion of (the proceeds) are going to the library," Abrashoff said.
Abrashoff further explained that some of the proceeds would go to other charities the Rotary supports, but that "the bulk of the proceeds will go to putting 100 children's books in the library."
The Children's and Young Adult Librarian, Susan Miriello, was at the post-tournament banquet to accept the Rotary Club's donation. Library board member Mary Gahagan was also present.
"We couldn't survive without the generous donations from Rotary and different organizations like that," Miriello said.
Miriello expects that the books added to the library's stacks will benefit a large range of young readers, from infants all the way to high schoolers.
"The money will be spent on books for infants, toddlers, preschool, school age and high school students," Miriello said.
But as Abrashoff explained, it's not just the Mifflin County Library that will benefit from the tournament's proceeds.
Abrashoff named a number of charities which the Rotary Club of Lewistown supports, including ShelterBox.
ShelterBox is a survival kit which can be sent to those who have lost their homes due to natural disasters. The kit includes a tent, blankets, a water purification system and a small cooking stove, among other items, to provide temporary relief for families trying to rebuild in a post-disaster environment.
A ShelterBox was on display at the banquet. One special feature about ShelterBox is that each kit has a tracking number which allows those who have donated a kit to see where the kit has been deployed.
On the whole, the charity golf tournament was a success. Abrashoff said that the proceeds gained from this tournament were on par with the proceeds gained in previous years.
Joe Battista, the Associate Athletic Director at Penn State, was the main speaker for the banquet, and shared about the new ice arena which is currently being built in University Park. The Sentinel is planning to publish an in-depth update on the new ice arena at Penn State in the Progress Edition, Centre County section, which will be published Oct. 10.
