Hannibal Alliance for Youth Success will be host of bingo event on Friday

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Hannibal Alliance for Youth Success (HAYS) will be the host of Bingo for Bright Futures at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 26 at Immanuel Baptist Church.

This event will cost $25 per person, which will include 1 Bingo card and 10 rounds of Bingo. There will be an optional charge of $10 extra for every additional Bingo card purchased. Various prizes will be provided by local businesses.

HAYS is a nonprofit organization serving the Hannibal community with the mission of “Uniting to make a difference for kids in our community.” HAYS is launching a campaign called #HeyGetToKnowHays. The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness of the different ways it is involved in supporting Hannibal youths, as well as to engage community members in supporting its mission.

HAYS is known for its Buddy Packs program, which supplies meals to students who need food assistance over the weekends. It also has other programs: mentorship, Families and Communities Together and Helping Hands.

The mentorship program has 35 mentors who meet with students weekly while school is in session. These mentors meet with students often eating lunch, playing games or simply sharing day-to-day experiences. Families and Communities Together seeks to partner with the community to support students’ needs, as they have previously done through working with businesses to gather school supplies. Helping Hands works to meet student needs that would otherwise be unknown and unmet, such as donating a pair of shoes or gas cards to families with a specific need.

There is a need for monetary donations, food donations for Buddy Packs, school supplies donations and increasing the number of mentors. Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Meghan Karr said in a press release, “It’s just another quality relationship with an adult that helps to build confidence in students, helps give them a positive relationship and gives that student another trusted adult in their life who cares for them and wants them to be successful.”

The commitment to become a mentor involves giving up one hour a week, with the potential to make a lifetime of difference in the life of a child.

For more information about HAYS and its various programs, visit its Facebook page.