Scoops & Wickets is good for families

June 15, 2008|By CHRIS CARTER

LEITERSBURG -- Dads, granddads and future dads came together Saturday at Brook Lane for an ice cream and croquet social as a part of Father's Day weekend.

The third annual Scoops & Wickets fundraiser offered silent and live auctions, a moon bounce, ring toss and tic-tac-toe games, croquet, boccie, face painting and homemade ice cream.

"We had a lot of families today. It's good for the families," said Kay Hoffman, director of development at Brook Lane. "I think a lot of people come because it's Father's Day weekend, and it gives generations a chance to be with each other and have a good time together."

The festivities lasted through the morning for about 3 1/2 hours and were a follow-up to The Wicket Affair, a reception and benefit auction held Friday night.

New to the Saturday event were a petting zoo and a clown.

"The petting zoo has been popular, and the auctions have gone well," Hoffman said. "The homemade ice cream is always a big hit."

Hoffman said more than 200 people turned out for the event, from which she expected Brook Lane to raise about $25,000. It is part of a fundraising drive to support the construction of a gymnasium on the Brook Lane campus.

Hagerstown Community College athletic director Bo Myers was chairman of the event.

"(Hoffman) got me involved because they want to build a gymnasium here," said Myers, a former high school principal. "As a principal, I used to work closely with Brook Lane, so I wanted to do anything I could do to help. Hopefully, we can get something kick-started."

Hoffman roughly estimated the cost of a gymnasium at about $2 million. It was to be part of a larger residential program extension, but those plans fell through. Hoffman said a broad timeline for gym construction is within the next two years.

A gym could serve Laurel Hall School - a nonpublic school for special-needs students - and Stone Bridge Transitional Care Home on the Brook Lane campus.

"The kids need a place to exercise," Hoffman said. "Hopefully, we will be able to open it for community use, too."

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