CAPTION: Posing with the items to be given away during the monthlong Blingo prize drawing are Victoria Bardo, left, development and event manager for Filling the Gap, and Cindy Hitchcock, FTG’s vice president of business and finance.
People who enjoy the excitement of a daily prize drawing can take part in the sixth annual “Sassy Baggs & Beyond Blingo” fund-raiser to benefit people with disabilities.
Typically for the Blingo event, people gather at The Resource Center for a night of bingo, with designer handbags as prizes. That wasn’t possible again this year because of the pandemic, so instead organizers have created a “20 Prizes in 20 Days” event.
Every weekday starting April 4 and lasting through the end of the month, Filling the Gap, Inc., will hold a drawing for one of 20 prizes. Items include handbags, gift cards, a smart speaker, a Bluetooth speaker, a vacuum sealer, a blender, a toolkit, and a video doorbell. All of the prizes can be viewed at www.fillingthegap.net.
The online version of Blingo was introduced last year because of the pandemic. Victoria Trass Bardo, development and events manager at Filling the Gap, said that while The Resource Center and Filling the Gap hope their other traditional community events can be held this year, organizers couldn’t bring a large group of people together for Blingo.
“We were optimistic about hosting an in-person, fun-filled event in 2022, but it is not possible given the guidelines we are following at this time,” said Bardo, adding that the online Blingo will follow the same format as last year.
“Our 2021 Blingo event was such a success that we are planning on an online event once again this year. There are 20 awesome items up for grabs. We hope these unique items will inspire everyone to purchase their tickets soon,” she said.
A $20 ticket gives the buyer one chance in each of the daily drawings. People can improve their odds of winning by buying multiple tickets. Tickets can be bought online at the Filling the Gap web site or in person at the Felice Corporate Center, 92 Fairmount Avenue in Jamestown, and The Resource Center’s administrative offices at 200 Dunham Avenue in Celoron. Tickets can be purchased until March 31.
The Blingo event is being organized by Filling the Gap, which works with The Resource Center to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Chautauqua County. Proceeds will benefit The Resource Center Look Good Fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The Look Good Fund supports people with disabilities in areas such as personal care, personal appearance, clothing, protective gear, and transportation. The fund was established by the late Margaret Look, who in the 1960s and ‘70s was a member of The Resource Center’s board of directors and was news editor at The Post-Journal.
Other events scheduled for this year include a Slow Roll Pedal Party on June 18 in Dunkirk; the Laurel Memorial Run and Walk on July 15 and 16; the TRC Golf Classic on July 25; the Mark Pacheco WOW Fund Lip Sync Battle on August 26; and Step Up for Autism on September 24. For more information about Blingo or any of the other events conducted by The Resource Center and Filling the Gap, phone Bardo at 716-661-1477.
