Kimball Camp hosts family-friendly events. Courtesy | Facebook

Kimball Camp will host its second annual purse bingo fundraiser on March 23 from 4 to 8 p.m.

“We had our first go at bingo last year and it was our most successful fund generating event last year,” said Tyler Tracy, CEO of Kimball Camp. “We raised almost $9,000.”

Tracy said purse bingo is important because it raises funds for the mission of the camp.

“We are a nonprofit that serves local youth to grow and develop social skills and resilience,” Tracy said. “The mission of the camp has been known in the community for a long time and we are hoping to do enough fundraising to keep this mission alive.”

Purse bingo is a version of bingo that awards purses as prizes for winning rounds.

The camp’s purse bingo is expected to draw a large crowd. Tracy said he hopes the bingo will top last year’s proceeds.

“Last year we were only five people away from a full house, which is comfortably 150 people,” Tracy said, “so we are expecting to sell out this year.”

The money from the event is crucial to the camp’s continued success, said Don Shemel, the board chairman for Kimball Camp.

“We need that money to help with our programming costs so we don’t have to raise prices to stay or come to the camp,” Shemel said.

The purse bingo will offer opportunities outside of bingo and package options for attendees to win prizes.

“We’ll be hosting a raffle after the bingo, where we’ll have different displays of baskets and items that some of our local community partners put together,” Tracy said. “The basket raffle is where people can hope to win other prizes outside of the bingo. There are also packages that allow you different benefits with entry outside of general admission. We have brown, silver, and gold packages.”

The purses for the event are donated by local businesses and often include items sold by the business.

“Donating a purse for the bingo is a great way for a business to be involved,” Tracy said. “Sometimes businesses with particular products want to make their business stand out even more by filling the purse with their products.”

Kimball Camp seeks to provide children with an environment where they can grow, away from the technology based society of today, Shemel said.

“Children today are spending four to seven minutes a day outside and they are spending seven and a half hours a day on their screens,” Shemel said. “We know from over 400 studies that being outdoors with nature is better for the well-being of a child and it decreases their anxiety and lets them relax.”

Tracy said it is important to expand an outdoor experience to the family.

“We are also hoping to expand into serving the whole family,” Tracy said. “We are trying to expand our programs to have more events like the women’s retreat we have coming up.”

The second annual purse bingo will include purses of around a $400 value and food will be provided, according to Tracy. 

Those interested can register through kimballcamp.com, according to Tracy.