NATCHEZ — The local chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and its sponsors pulled up their socks and tied up their bowling shoes Saturday to raise money for boys and girls of the Miss-Lou.

The fraternity members secured 15 sponsors and bowling teams and raised between $1,700 and $2,000 to help out the Miss-Lou Boys and Girls Club with a bowl-a-thon tournament at Rivergate Bowl.

“It’s always nice to spend a few hours on a Saturday with some kids doing something constructive,” fraternity member and fundraiser organizer Jamal McCullen said.

McCullen said approximately 12 children from the Boys and Girls Club, in addition to children of some of the chapter members, bowled on a team.

McCullen said one of Omega Psi Phi’s cardinal principals is to uplift the community, so the brothers were especially excited about involving the youth in the event.

Boys and Girls Club board member Thomas “Boo” Campbell, who attended the event, said help from the community like the fraternity’s fundraiser is especially crucial to sustain the club during the current tough economic times.

“(The financial situation) looks kind of dismal at this time, but we’re going to survive,” Campbell said.

Campbell said with grant funding being pulled from the club, every little bit of donations counts.

“Everything (the area) can do to raise money keeps us afloat,” he said. “It takes a community.”

McCullen said the fraternity wanted to do something for the club when he read in the newspaper the club had to close temporarily earlier in the year to make ends meet.

The bowl-a-thon was ideal, even though McCullen admits he is not an avid bowler, because the children from the club could participate.

“(A bowling tournament) was something to include the youth,” he said.

McCullen said the fraternity hopes to make the bowl-a-thon an annual fundraising event for the Boys and Girls Club.