Last Chance: UMHS Students to Host Annual ‘Bowling for Bear’

“Strength is in the soul and spirit, not in the muscles.”

  -Quote found on the back of this year’s ‘Bowling for Bear’ t-shirts

The third annual Bowling for Bear event will take place this Friday, April 13, at .

The event, which goes from 9 – 11 p.m., is held in collaboration between the Upper Moreland High School (UMHS) Student Council and , the junior branch of Old York Road Kiwanis Club.

According to Key Club co-advisor and UMHS school psychologist , the event started when , past UMHS Student Council president and past vice-president of Key Club, lost her brother to Duschene Muscular Dystrophy, a neuromuscular disease, in November 2010.

“Both groups wanted to do something to raise funds for MDA [Muscular Dystrophy Association] to honor her brother, Stephen "Bear" Schwartz,” Cohen said in an e-mail. “So, that's where the name came from.”

Prior to the Bowling for Bear event, the UMHS Key Club had hosted a bowling night, in which the students raised funds for various charities. However, by combining efforts and resources from both student council and Key Club, Cohen said that the event was able to raise much more for the single charitable nonprofit.

Last year, the event raised over $4,200 for MDA.

“We raised a good deal of our funds through ticket sales, but also by getting sponsors from local business and organizations,” Cohen said.

Such local sponsors, including, but not limited to the Upper Moreland Education Foundation, Rita’s Water Ice, Wawa and the Kiwanis of Old York Road, had their names on the back of the event’s t-shirts, as well as have a lane dedicated to them.

A Well-Attended Event

The evening features Thunderbird Lanes’ “Glow bowling,” whose neon lights and upbeat DJ selections make for a fun and carnival-like atmosphere.

Anyone attending last year’s Bowling for Bear saw how popular the event has become, and has been successful in attracting not only community members, but also the community at large.

Cohen attributes the event’s success to the idea of bringing the whole school community together to have fun bowling and to support a good cause.

According to Cohen, over 175 people attended last year’s event.

“Sara Hunt, Student Council Advisor, and myself have enjoyed coordinating the event with the students,” Cohen said.  “This event, along with the Great Food Fight, has allowed us to put the two groups together and the synergy of the two groups, with a good deal of overlap between the two groups, has allowed us to be more effective and build additional school spirit.”

Battle For the Bear

This year, Bowling for Bear will feature a special challenge match between two teams: Barb Robbins, UMHS custodian, and Gavin Lichtenstein, Key Club secretary and incoming co-president; versus Noelle Baratta, UMHS guidance counselor and Emile Dormer, Key Club member. The challenge, being called “Battle for the Bear,” asks for businesses and individuals to sponsor each team’s individual pins successfully knocked down.

According to Cohen, the winner will be presented with the Battle for the Bear trophy.

He added that fun challenges, such as the Battle For the Bear and the entire event itself, help add to the frequent displays of goodwill produced by the high school’s student council and Key Club.

“It helps to show the community as well, the good deeds that the students engage in, not just for this event, but in the things both groups do in both the school and community, all year long” Cohen said.