Humane Society Bowl-A-Rama Makes Epic Comeback Post-COVID
by James Coulter
Melanie Brown Culpepper loves to host fundraisers for her own causes, including Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation. However, she loves being able to attend other events and assisting them with their causes.
For that reason, she attended the annual Bowl-A-Rama on Sunday to support the Humane Society of Polk County, with proceeds going towards funding the operations of their local facility.
Melanie attended the event with one of her stylists from her hair salon, Melanie’s Cutting Edge. She has been close friends with the staff at Today & Tonight Magazine, which has been a sponsor of the annual Bowl-A-Rama and other events hosted by the Humane Society.
“I have been close with them for many years, and I try to help them with all of their events,” she said. “I am very proud of them today. When I showed up, they were sold out. I love the fact they have the kids and families all together.”
Melanie supports the Humane Society likewise, and she was proud of their big event, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic. The event more than exceeded her initial expectations.
“We are having a very good time,” she said. “Our expectations have been above and beyond. Especially since COVID shut down and they have been able to start bringing this back. This exceeded what they initially expected.”
Bowl-A-Rama more than exceeded expectations, explained Beth Koon Spiwak, President of the Humane Society. More than 40 teams attended the event at Cypress Lanes in Winter Haven. Aside from bowling, they were also able to win prizes through raffle drawings and enjoy a lunch buffet.
This year’s event was the second annual. Last year’s event was not hosted due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. In light of the current pandemic, this year’s event exceeded expectations in terms of the turnout and proceeds raised.
“It is a great turnout today,” Spiwak said. “Lots of people out here today in support of the animals. I think everyone is ready to get out in the community again and support community causes…And it has been a lot of fun to be out and about again.”
Proceeds from the event go towards the operations of the Humane Society of Polk County and their facility along Dundee Road, right down the street from Cypress Lanes. They host the county’s premier no-kill animal shelter, and they spend $1,500 a day to operate their facility.
Tracey Greene works for both Today & Tonight Magazine and serves on the board for the Humane Society for more than 15 years. Her company loves animals, and they do everything to support organizations that help animals, including the Humane Society.
“My company, we love animals,” Greene said. “Animals are our passion. We work with many organizations in our county. This is the only one that I commit my time to personally as a board member.”
Part of the overall event’s success is with it being a family-friendly daytime event. Most other Humane Society events are fundraisers at night and for adults. This year’s event sold out, and Greene expects next year’s event to be bigger next year.
“It is a family friendly event fun for all ages,” she said. “I mean that when I say that….It is nice that we can have a Sunday afternoon event that is a Sunday fun day event for everybody.”
