Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The 7th annual Sink-A-Palooza fundraiser held at the Bradford YMCA in Prattville raised $28,000 this past week. While local leaders, hometown favorites and elected officials were a bit chilly in the ice water being dumped, dunked and thrown on them, the proceeds from their efforts go to a great cause.
The money raised at this event will go towards the scholarship program which includes all the branches in the area, YMCA assistant general director, Kieth Cantrell confirms. In the last seven years, Cantrell stated that this event alone has raised over $150,000.
“We do this because our YMCA gives over $300 ,000 away every year in scholarship money to ages ranging from children all the way to senior adults. That $300,000 is shared between about 3,000 different people. A lot of people get blessed because of what we do. At Our Y, one in every four and a half to five people receive some type of aid, so this is a big deal,” Cantrell said.
Community leaders such as Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrell, Prattville YMCA general director and CEO David Lewis, WSFA Chief Meteorologist Josh Johnson, WSFA meteorologist Amanda Curran, Autauga County Schools communication coordinator Rebecca Thomas, Autauga County attorney Kyle Shirley, local leaders Jeremy Pyles, Kyle Stewart, Justin Hall and so many others scatted the Bradford outdoor pool Saturday morning.
“It’s a fun deal. We were sitting around the Y one day and we were looking for something that we could do that was different and unique, and something that we could do with our pool, and from that Sink-A-Palooza was born,” Cantrell said.
The community could pay to sink a boat captain’s boat with ice water. Other options to “sink” community leaders in the icy depths included using a water cannon, pouring ice buckets, pouring pitchers of ice water over them, walking the plank and being sent down the slide into an icy boat.
However, the alleged worst one of all was the ice bath where community leaders and participants had to fully submerge themselves in the icy tank.
“The most fun is just seeing our community spirit, involvement and engagement. These are all people who love the Y, and they love our community. I think the best part of it is it’s different. It’s not something that you’re going to see every day. These people are a big part of our town, and they’re willing to come out and do this for two hours on a Saturday,” Cantrell said.
The Sink-A-Palooza event is just one of many fundraising events that local YMCA’s host throughout the year that not only go towards the scholarship program, but also the Coach a Child Scholarship Fund.
The Coach a Child Scholarship Fund was founded in 2005, Cantrell stated. This program goes to help meet the needs in the community for individuals seeking services at the local YMCA branches. Cantrell stated that they never turn anyone away for their inability to pay, and this fund helps them with resources.
This year the winners of the Sink-A-Palooza:
1st place: Rob Cox, Centerpoint Fellowship Church
2nd place: Steven Evans, Hunter Hills Church of Christ
3rd place: Jeremy Pyles, First Methodist Church
Dunking Booth winner: Kaylon Cantrell, PCA Head Volleyball Coach
