Scheduled for March 15 in Chicopee, "Godfather Bowl" will also raise money for Baystate Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice.
The family of the late Martha E. Keochareon, of Holyoke, is organizing a bowling tournament to benefit local hospice, as well as a nursing scholarship in Keochareon’s name. “The Godfather Bowl,” scheduled for March 15 in Chicopee, will raise money for Baystate Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice and The Martha E. Keochareon Memorial Nursing Scholarship, a Holyoke Community College Foundation fund.
The bowl is named in honor of Daniel J. Casey, who passed away in 2007, from pancreatic cancer. He was godfather to Keochareon, and also to her daughter, Barbara Connor Dimauro, who with her husband, Andrew Dimauro, started the scholarship in Keochareon’s name and organized the bowling tournament. Their Godfather Fund Inc. is tax exempt, meaning all donations and sponsorships are tax deductible.
Barbara Dimauro said the bowling tournament seemed like a fun way to honor her mother, who died in December 2012, after battling pancreatic cancer.
Keochareon’s long battle with cancer caught national attention after The New York Times published a front page article on her. Keochareon allowed two Holyoke Community College nursing students and the college’s nursing education specialist, Kelly Keane, into her home to learn about cancer, pain management and the dying process first-hand.
“She was very giving and she helped a lot of people who were in need,” Dimauro said. “So, we want to help people who have a financial need, hopefully from her area, the greater Holyoke area.”
Dimauro said they still have more fund-raising to do to be able to hand out scholarships, but they hope to raise $25,000 with the tournament.
“We may look toward more non-traditional students, which she was,” Dimauro said. “She went back to college in her 30’s.”
Keochareon graduated from Holyoke High School in 1971. She graduated from Holyoke Community College’s nursing program in 1993.
The scholarship will be awarded to a student in Holyoke Community College’s Registered Nursing program, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and who has completed the first year of the program.
The tournament will include raffles, a silent auction, food and a DJ.
Bowlers can enter as individuals or as teams.
“You can form teams of six bowlers and have some fun with it, if you want to grab co-workers and have some healthy competition,” Dimauro said. “All the food and soft drinks are included for anyone who is bowling.”
A cash bar is available. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, as well as “The Underdog,” the lowest scoring team.
Organizers are also looking for corporate sponsors for the event. Various levels of sponsorship are available.
Dimauro said the family was reinvigorated to do something positive for others after the recent passing of her father in law, former Springfield Mayor Theodore E. Dimauro.
“We lost two great people, in a short span of time, who both did a lot for a lot of people, and we’re just trying to make the best of the situation, and keep moving in the direction they would want us to go in,” she said.
“The Godfather Bowl” takes place from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at AMF Chicopee Lanes, 291 Burnett Road. Donation is $30 for individuals, and $150 for teams of six.
For more information, to register or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.TheGodfatherBowl.com, call (413) 896-6733 or email bcdimauro@comcast.net.