The third annual Bowling for Books fundraiser took place last Friday at Cal Bowling in Lakewood, where more than 25 teams of CSULB students, employees and sponsors bowled to raise funds for textbook scholarships.
Don Penrod, general manager of 49er Shops Inc, started the event fundraiser at CSULB in 2009 after having been part of it at St. Louis Community College four years prior.
“As a bookstore we hear a lot about the cost of textbooks and we understand what a burden it is on students,” Penrod said .
Though the cost of textbooks is controlled by the publisher, Penrod and others decided to do something to help ease the burden on students.
“We decided rather than complain about the cost of books we would do something and we started bowling to raise money,” he said.
According to Penrod, about $60,000 has been raised with the biggest contributions coming from Herff Jones and U.S. Food Service with donations of about $20,000 each.
Other sponsors included Chegg, Coca-Cola and Framing Success.
49er Shops Inc. has partnered with CSULB’s Center for Scholarship Information in distributing the scholarships to students.
According to Valerie Kelsey, coordinator of university scholarships, the office awards 50 students each semester with the scholarship, which is worth $250.
“We put it on an account at the bookstore so they can actually buy their books directly at the bookstore without having to front any money,” Kelsey said.
To be considered for the textbook scholarship, students must turn in an application and one-page essay asking why they need the scholarship and what their financial need is like in order to be considered for the textbook scholarship.
“A lot of the personal statements we read, students are saying that they are borrowing books from their friends, they’ve been at the library for hours trying to get their work done or they failed the class because they didn’t get the books for it and the textbook scholarships has allowed them to succeed in their classes and has really helped,” Kelsey added.
The event also included raffled prizes donated by the sponsors. Items such as a small laptop, an iPod Shuffle, and gift cards were among those raffled off. On campus, students were able to contribute to the scholarship fundraiser by purchasing paper bowling pins for a dollar or paper bowling pins with the bowling ball for $5. These could be purchased at any of the 49er Shops on campus including the bookstore and numerous convenience stores that would display the pins on their windows.
Rebecca Ruiz, a bookstore employee, was one of many CSULB students who came out to help support the cause and have fun with fellow coworkers.
“During [the] rush I’ll say prices and there will be shock on [students] faces… [books] do get really expensive so working at the bookstore you really see how it affects them,” Ruiz said.
Free T-Shirts and food was also provided at the bowling alley. According to Penrod about $230,000 has been raised for the textbook scholarship since 2009.
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