Blue Ridge Literacy is replacing their annual Scrabble tournament with an online Boggle tournament in order to raise money for their organization.
The pandemic has required Blue Ridge Literacy to adjust nearly all of its programs this past year, and now the non-profit is transforming its signature fundraising event. For 15 years, a Scrabble tournament has been the organization’s main fundraising event, but this year, an online Boggle tournament will replace the Scrabble tradition.
Boggle is a word game with the goal of finding as many words as possible in a jumbled grid of letters. Its popularity and simple rules make it a suitable option for an online word search game.
“An in-person event right now was impossible to imagine so we had to get creative,” says Ahoo Salem, Blue Ridge Literacy’s Executive Director. “This is how we have operated this past year – staying flexible and finding ways to continue our mission and address the needs of our community within the limitations we’ve all encountered.”
Through team sign ups and corporate sponsorships, the Scrabble tournament aims to raise about $10,000 each year for the literacy organization. The event is typically held in March, so last year’s event was initially postponed and later cancelled altogether.
Salem hopes that most of the Scrabble players will give online Boggle a try this year, and that the event will draw new players as well. “Anyone can join since it’s all online,” Salem says. “We are hopeful that the community will join in as a fun way to support the 300 learners we serve each year.”
General event info
BRL’s online Boggle Tournament will be held on Thursday, April 8, from 6-8 p.m. via Zoom. Players will all use the same free online platform to find as many words as possible in a jumbled grid of 16 letters. Letters can only be used once per word, and words must be 3 letters or longer. Games are timed and scores are calculated automatically. Elimination tournaments will take place in breakout rooms, where participants play online boggle against each other. The top-ranked players continue to the next round until the finalists play against one another in the main Zoom meeting room. Prior to the fundraiser, an introductory session will be held to make sure all participants are familiar with Zoom and its different functions.
Blue Ridge Literacy (BRL) is currently seeking sponsors to help reach the $10,000 fundraising goal. These funds are directly invested into BRL’s one-on-one tutoring, ESOL programs and Citizenship Preparation classes.
To learn more about the registration process, rules of Boggle and available sponsorship levels go to https://www.blueridgeliteracy.org/boggle.
For questions, call 540-265-9339 or email info@brlit.org.
About Blue Ridge Literacy
Founded in 1985, Blue Ridge Literacy offers English literacy services to adults living in counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, Alleghany and Craig, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem. Last year, 466 adult learners were served through ESOL classes, 1:1 tutoring matches, and citizenship classes. To learn more, please visit www.blueridgeliteracy.org. Last year, over 300 adult learners were served through ESOL classes, 1:1 tutoring matches, and citizenship classes. To learn more, please visit www.blueridgeliteracy.org.
