On Saturday, the United Way of La Porte County held their annual Dodgeball Challenge in the Wolf Gym at the Michigan City YMCA at Elston Middle School. An array of businesses and community organizations put together teams of 8 players to compete and raise money for Michigan City Area Elementary School Sports Programs.
“This is an event that United Way does every year and it has so much energy behind it,” said United Way of La Porte County’s Executive Director, Kris Pate. “It is surprisingly intense! You won’t believe the competition you’ll see here today. Some folks practice ahead of time and some don’t but they take this game very seriously. It’s great for the people that come together because it’s team building for them.”
“We like to promote activities in the community that are healthy and community building experiences for people to have fun together,” Pate said. “I think this is just one little piece of all the great things going on in La Porte County. There’s so much positive energy and so much of a concentration on place-making, and things like this are what make a community fun. These folks are coming together and having a great time while at the same time they’re actually raising some funds for their own community.”
In La Porte County, the United Way is the community's vehicle for problem solving. When there are issues going on in the community the United Way recognizes those needs and can bring people and resources from around the county together to work to fill those gaps and solve problems..
“This is the seventh time the United Way has held a dodgeball tournament for the community,” said Dave Sisk, Manager of Community Engagement at United Way of La Porte County. “We had about 18 teams this year playing for trophies, a travelling trophy, best fan and best dressed team trophies and Blue Chip gift certificates so it’s a great day to come out and support the community.”
“This year the proceeds are actually going to help the Michigan City Area Schools - Elementary School Sports Programs which is really cool,” Sisk said. “They’re bringing back boys and girls basketball, track and soccer in the elementary schools that were cut years ago. We’re adding to the help that’s already out there to bring these back to all the elementary schools in Michigan City.”
Among the teams in this year’s Dodgeball Challenge were Horizon Bank, UPS, McDonald’s, and Blue Chip Casino. There with his McDonald’s Restaurant of LaPorte County team was owner Sam Lubeznik.
“Over the years the United Way of La Porte County has done so much for the community I wouldn’t know where to start,” Lubeznik said. “They are just such a fantastic organization that touch so many lives here in the community and beyond that they find really great ways of making fun events.”
Check out more photos of the Tourney here!
“It’s a lot of fun for me,” Lubeznik said. “I get to sponsor a team and bring all of my guys and girs out. We get to have a fun day together and it’s a great morale builder for my team and my crew and it has the added benefit of just being a really good thing to do for the community. What’s a better definition of a win-win than coming out and raising money for the United Way by playing dodgeball and having fun together?”
The winner of the 7th Annual United Way of La Porte County Dodgeball Challenge was the team from UPS with Blue Chip Casino’s team coming in second.
To find out more about how you can help the United Way of La Porte County, go to: http://unitedwaylpc.org/