The Boys & Girls Club of Easton is gearing up for one of its biggest fundraisers of the year.
Organizers again this year will hold a weekend Play for Kids fundraiser with activities that start Thursday, Oct. 22, and run through Saturday, Oct. 24.
The fundraiser is capped Saturday with a basketball mini-marathon and the Kiss-a-Cow contest.
Play for Kids includes sports and games, live music, tours, food, a diversity forum and a tribute to the Easton Police Department. It is held at the club at 210 Jones Houston Way on South Side Easton.
The public is invited to sit in on festivities, tour the club and participate in some of the activities with kids.
A basketball mini-marathon made up of corporate and small business teams is set for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. Organizers are still accepting teams to participate.
"Corporations, small businesses and teams from the Lehigh Valley community can buy playing time and challenge one another," said Dean Young, the club's executive director said. "Our good friends at Crayola have already signed up for the event and are looking for a good corporate challenge game."
Part of the Saturday activities will be dedicated to the Kiss-a-Cow fundraiser, in which people can make a donation to the club by nominating local "celebrities" to kiss a cow.
Folks can make a secure online donation now and nominate their candidate at the Boys and Girls Club website.
The person who garners the most donations has to to pucker up and kiss the cow at noon that Saturday.
Participants include John Reinhart, Easton schools superintendent; Charlene Symia, Easton Area Middle School Principal; motivational speaker Pat Breslin; Gary Lee of Brown-Daub Kia; Jennifer Hillis of The Hillis Group; and Jim Deegan, community editor of The Express-Times and lehighvalleylive.com.
Donations help the nonprofit club with operating and program expenses.
The Boys and Girls Club of Easton served 755 kids in 2014, and 244 kids during an 11-week summer program this past summer. Seventy-three club members graduated from Easton Area High School last June, Young said, and participants in the club's new Imagination Station online reading program saw a 46 percent increase in reading and comprehension proficiency.
Other activities during the fundraiser include music, food and games from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and an after-school educational program and bicycle stunt show from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.
Corporations, teams and volunteers interested in participating in and sponsoring Play for Kids this year can find more information on the club website and its Facebook page. You can also email stars@fast.net or call Dean Young at 484-239-2075.