On March 18, La Porte Family Advocates hosted their first in-person trivia night fundraiser at American Legion John Franklin Miller Post No. 37. After the success of their virtual trivia night last year, La Porte Family Advocates decided to ride the positive momentum into 2022 by providing the community with a fun way to spend their Friday night and give back to the community.
“We are so excited. We did a virtual trivia night last year, and it was such a great success that people wanted us to do a live event,” said CYA Program Director Brenda Stellema.
La Porte Family Advocates CEO Jackie Dermody was especially excited with the turnout and the opportunity to reconnect with the community in person again.
“Family Advocates is really excited to be here this evening. This is our first fundraiser of 2022, and everyone is so excited because everything is in person again. Our staff has worked really hard to put this together,” said Dermody.
The trivia night helped raise funds for all three of La Porte Family Advocate’s programs: Harmony House, CASA, and CYA. All three programs provide families in the community essential services to bring positivity to their lives.
“Family Advocates has three different programs. We have our CASA program, which works with kids in the child welfare system, our Harmony House, which is supervised visitation for youth and families, and my program, the CYA program, that works with struggling youth and keeping them in school. A part of the proceeds will go to every program tonight,” said Stellema.
Once everyone rolled into the American Legion, it was time to begin the trivial pursuit and see which team was the smartest. There were close to thirty teams competing, but only one could become champion and prove to everyone else they possess the most useless knowledge. There was a total of six rounds with 10 questions each revolving around mainly pop culture and obscure facts. The first round was simple, and as the rounds progressed the questions became more difficult. After several hours of teams putting their brains to the test, it was The Snakes who emerged victorious and took home the first-place trophy.
Although it was The Snakes who took first, most of the teams didn’t leave empty handed. In fact, the last place team, Team Bruce, was awarded a free oil change and a pint of Jack Daniels to prove to everyone that they do know Jack. Additionally, at the end of some rounds, the team who scored the least number of points was awarded a can of baked beans and a pack of spam to take home.
Although there can only be one winner, every team still had a great time spending time with friends and giving back to the community. Events like this can’t be successful without the support of the community and those who truly care about the work Family Advocates does.
“We just really appreciate the support of the community, and we can’t do what we do without their support. I would offer to anyone who’s interested in becoming a volunteer to please contact us. We are always looking for caring adults who will invest in our kids,” said Stellema.
To learn more about La Porte Family Advocates and see how you can get involved, please visit https://lpfamilyadvocates.com/.