Shuffle comes up aces for charity

South Ave. walk paves the way for fundraising

By VIRGINIA ROSS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s time to don your walking shoes and get ready for the South Avenue Shuffle charity walk.

The walk will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday along South Avenue. Participants pay $20 to register and agree to walk from stop to stop along the avenue. This year, 10 establishments along South Avenue are participating and acting as stops. They are: The Evergreen, East Side Civics, Teenie’s Tavern, Dee & R’s Place, The Coconut Grove, Pastime, Dragon Palace, Irish Bob’s, Piggy’s C&D and the VFW.

The shuffle, conducted the past eight years, is similar to a poker run, explained Lori Greenwalt, of East Side Civics, an organizer of the event.

Each walker typically starts the journey at the bar or club where he registered and acts as a representative of that establishment. From there, the walkers shuffle along the avenue as a group, collecting for their establishment one game card at each stop for a total of 10 cards. The establishment with the best hand of five cards earns the right to have the trophy for a year and gets to decide which charity or organization will benefit from the proceeds of the next shuffle.

The Evergreen won last year and chose Second Harvest Food Bank to get the money raised this year.

The registration fee covers a T-shirt and two beverage tickets. Walkers also are treated to a free food buffet at all 10 bars. Raffles also will be included.

Greenwalt said the South Avenue Shuffle organization, made up of local bars along South Avenue, was established eight years ago to raise money for various efforts. Last year, the organization raised slightly more than $4,500 for charity. Typically, between 350 and 500 people participate each year, Greenwalt said.

The organization also sponsors other events several times a year, including a golf outing.

“As a group, we wanted to do something to give back to the community, to help in some way, and this is what we came up with,” Greenwalt said.

The charity walk will be patrolled by members of the Youngstown Police Department.

“It’s actually a really good time and something people really enjoy getting involved with,” Greenwalt said. “We’ve been doing this for eight years now, but next year, we’d like to try to add a few things, maybe add some music by getting some bands to play and having vendors set up along the avenue. Those are just ideas but things worth thinking about for next time.”