'ChloBowl' Returns to Support Best Buddies

Bowling enthusiasts will gather in Odenton on Sunday for a special event on behalf of those with intellectual disabilities, and to support the formation of a new club at Old Mill High School. 

The 4th annual "ChloBowl" event is returning to Greenway Bowl, with proceeds to support Chloe's Cause and Best Buddies. 

Chloe's Cause was initially created to raise funds and awareness for those with Down Syndrome who were also battling cancer. It was named after 6-year-old Chloe Coccia, who survived a bout with Leukemia.

The charity has since branched out to offer help to all groups who support those with intellectual disabilities. It also has raised money (more than $70,000 to date) to pay medical bills for affected families.

"There are so many organizations that can help, if they are properly supported," said Tony Davenport, the president of Chloe's Cause, who is also Chloe Coccia's uncle. 

Chloe's Cause has pledged $5,000 to Best Buddies, an organization that offers students a chance to form bonds with those with Down Syndrome and other intellectual challenges. The funds will go toward the creation of a Best Buddies club at Old Mill High, as well as a scholarship to a student involved in the club. 

Tony Davenport's wife, Gina, is an assistant principal at Old Mill High. Until 2011, she was also the principal at Arundel High, which has an active Best Buddies club.

"I'm hoping that a little bit of what we had at Arundel, we can replicate at Old Mill," Gina Davenport said. 

She said there are 42 students at Old Mill with intellectual disabilities. Many of them currently are isolated from the rest of the student body both in class and in the cafeteria, and there is a push to change that. 

"We want them to have real, genuine friendships," Gina Davenport said. "And we want the other kids to have a little bit of training so that they can be more aware and more comfortable socially as well."

Sponsorships of lanes at ChloBowl are sold out, but supporters can still come and bid on a wide range of items in a silent auction. Items include tickets to the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers game, tickets to a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, rounds of golf, and paintings from local artists.

Long term, Davenport said she'd like to see the Best Buddies club expand into the middle schools on the Old Mill campus, as well as to the remainder of high schools in the county. 

ChloBowl will take place at Greenway Bowl in Odenton from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday.