ROCHELLE — Small Business Bingo held its first event of the fall on Thursday, Nov. 7 at the hangar at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle and raised $5,555 that will be split between HOPE of Ogle County and Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center, Event Organizer and AP Massage Therapy Owner Ashley Patrick said.
“It was the biggest event we’ve had so far,” Patrick said. “We did our best to keep track of the attendance, but it became too much to follow. Our attendance was more than what we’ve had in the past. The Flight Deck Bar & Grill staff was amazing at accommodating us and making sure we had space and chairs and tables.”
Small Business Bingo held a spring event on April 4 and raised $4,105 for the Rochelle Area Community Foundation and The Kitchen Table. The fundraiser raised $18,853 for area nonprofits in 2023 with its inaugural four events. Patrick came up with the idea of bingo nights in the community with prizes donated by local businesses to raise money for area nonprofits last year. The four events in fall 2023 raised money for Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center, HOPE of Ogle County, Foundation for Focus House, and The Kitchen Table.
The fundraiser will hold two more events on Dec. 5 (to benefit Focus House and the Rochelle Township High School Education Foundation) and Jan. 2 (to benefit the Hub City Senior Center and Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County) at the same location and time of 6-8 p.m. Small Business Bingo will help nine nonprofits this year.
“For me, it’s something that is so fulfilling,” Patrick said. “It’s a fundraiser, but I’ve always wanted it to be more of a community project. We’re bringing the community together for the same mission. So many local people and organizations are participating and interacting to do something to benefit our community. I intended it to be more than a fundraiser. I love being able to spread the funds out to different nonprofits and spreading the word about what these organizations do in our community. Maybe it helps them in the future with things like donations or volunteers because more people know.”
The event held Nov. 7 also included a food drive for the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry, where goods were collected for the organization’s holiday food boxes.
The venue costs were covered for the 2024 events by the Rochelle Rotary Club, the City of Rochelle and Holcomb Bank, Patrick said. Jessica Morris of Edward Jones will sponsor the bingo cards for each event. The events are aided by sponsorships and volunteers.
“I run these events with a very small team,” Patrick said. “I’m very fortunate that I’ve had some help along the way. Getting the space ready takes a tremendous amount of work. We had volunteers to sell raffle tickets and bingo cards and get people into the door. It’s a sense of community, with people wanting to jump in and help in any way they can.”
Patrick has enjoyed seeing the event grow in attendance and funds raised over its two years after it started as an idea.
“To think back to planning the first event when I didn’t know whether I’d get 100 people to attend and whether people would be receptive to it and excited about it, it’s a feeling I can’t describe to be here now,” Patrick said. “It still blows my mind and we’re on our sixth event. I feel now that the sky's the limit and people will continue to support it and it will continue to grow. It’s exciting to see.”
