SCRABBLE FUNDRAISER
Annual Scrabble Challenge benefits Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County
TROY, N.Y. » Local word-lovers gathered to play games for a good cause on Sunday at the Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County’s sixth annual Scrabble Challenge.
The event, held Sunday afternoon at St. Michael’s Church Hall in Troy, drew one of the largest turnouts in the event’s history, including a mix of both returning and new participants.
Instead of playing traditional Scrabble, the challenge featured different rules for team play.
“Each game has its own rules, just to make it more fun,” said Caitlin Stein-Miner, president of the organization’s board of directors.
At the end of the three-game tournament, three prize winners were named as Scrabble Challenge champions.
Team George ‘n’ Jill was hoping to come out in first place this year. George and Jill Nagy, of Troy, compete in the Scrabble Challenge each February and have earned second place in the past.
“This may be our year,” Jill Nagy said before the competition began.
More important than winning, “We like to play Scrabble and support the Literacy Volunteers,” Jill Nagy added.
The Nagys have been playing Scrabble together at home for more than 50 years.
“About once a month,” Jill Nagy said. “It’s good because we’re very closely matched.”
Jean Howard, of Brunswick, who was part of team Scrabadubdubs, said she liked being part of the Scrabble Challenge every winter and tries to invite new players each time. “It’s a good community event,” she said.
The Scrabble Challenge was founded in 2015 as a new type of fundraiser for Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County, and its impact has increased each year since then.
“It’s growing over the years,” Stein-Miner said, glad to see the event’s success.
All proceeds of this fundraiser will help Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County to offer its services that include tutoring in basic reading and writing, tutoring in English as a second language, and high school equivalency prep to adults.
The idea for this event originally came from Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County Executive Director Judy Smith.
“When I was a tutor, and I know many of our tutors in our training - playing Scrabble, using the tiles to spell words, is something we do as an activity with our students,” Smith said on Sunday. “So we thought it might be a fun game.”
While the Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County has other annual fundraisers like the Famous Ladies’ Tea and the Literacy 5K Run/Walk, “It’s a different type of activity, so it brings different people,” Smith said. “It’s always about trying to be diversified in our types of fundraisers.”
The upcoming Famous Ladies Tea, another unique fundraising effort, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn, and the Literacy 5K Run/ Walk will take place at 8 a.m. on May 3 at Schodack Island State Park.
More information about these and other events, or about Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County’s programs, can be found online at www. lvorc.org.