By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
The largest fundraiser to guarantee more than 300 Lake Orion students with enough food for weekends is a little over a week away, with a little room left to participate.?
Blessings in a Backpack is hosting their annual Trivia Night’Saturday, January 23’at the Knights of Columbus from?5:30 p.m.’and on, with Fox 2 News reporter Deena Centofanti as the MC.
This is their third year the Lake Orion nonprofit organization has hosted the event to help raise money for their cause: to provide local children in need with a backpack complete with six nutritious meals for the weekend.?
More than 1,500 students in the district are on the free/reduced lunch program and at risk for weekend food insecurity, according to the Blessings in a Backpack-Lake Orion website.?
Of those students, more than 300 depend on their weekend-back pack to get them to their next meal Monday morning back in school.?
Blessings Co-Chair Kellie McDonald anticipates the event to be 100 percent sold out.?
‘It’s just a really fun community night where everyone comes together and supports the program,? she said. ‘Everyone is really generous. We count on this being one of our biggest fundraisers because we’ve grown to pack over 300 backpacks every week. All these kids count on us.??
It costs more than $30,000 a year to support the program, she added, and the program is feeling the pressure to support these kids.?
And this is one fun way to do so.?
Participants are broken into ten-person teams to help answer the trivia questions delivered by Centofanti. If no one knows an answer, they can buy a lifeline. For example, if stuck on a question, a lifeline would allow the team to look up the answer on their cell phone.?
And teams want to be on their A-game when competing for the highly-sought Blessings Trivia Night Trophy.?
‘It’s a lot of fun, and everyone will leave with a little something,? McDonald said.?
There will be door prizes and giveaways, which only add to the humble satisfaction of helping feed Lake Orion’s children.?
Blessings in a Backpack is still looking for more donations and table sponsorships to make their trivia night complete, and interested donators can email? info@blessingsinabackpacklakeorion.org.?
Tickets are $25, and can be purchased by emailing’info@blessingsinabackpacklakeorion.org. Dinner is provided and will begin at?6 p.m., with a cash bar available all night.?
The doors open at?5:30 p.m., and trivia will begin at?7:30 p.m.’at the Knights of Columbus Lake Orion, located at 1400 Orion Rd.?