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A Bunch Of Bunko Raises Money For Leukemia Society

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By PAUL CATALA pcatala@mediageneral.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2008

Around the busy hall, the women congregated and when they sat at tables, rolled the bones.

It was a night of socializing, eating and gaming, as about 130 members of the MOMS Club of Lithia gathered in the 2008, fourth-annual "Roll for a Cure" benefit night for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

For the past four years, The Palmetto Club at FishHawk Ranch has become a sort of mini-casino resort, as the members of the Moms Offering Moms Support (MOMS) Club, a national support group for stay-at-home moms, get together to raise money to help fight blood cancers.

As part of the fundraising night, the mothers and some grandmothers pay $20 each to play in games of Bunko. Bunko is a parlor game played in teams of four with three dice. With a time limit, players take turns rolling the dice to get as many twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes until a bell is sounded. A winning throw in Bunco is to throw three of a kind of a specified number and each team tallies their points to determine the winner.

"I got one two, that's me. It's a good start," said Carolyn Aguiar, as she played against moms Tracy Hennemann and Karin Ciulla. "Do I go again?"

Although some of the women were having their first go at Bunko and were just learning the rules, the enthusiasm for the game was high. About 80 of the women were from the MOMS Club of Lithia chapter and about 35 were members of the Brandon chapter. The rest of the women were moms, mothers or friends.

Roll for a Cure 2008 raised almost $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which goes towards leukemia research, said Caitlin Wray, special events campaign coordinator for the society's Suncoast Chapter.

Wray said last year, $8,500 was raised and support from groups like the MOMS Club of Lithia has helped the survival rate of those with leukemia - a blood or bone marrow cancer - go from 3 percent in 1960, to about 90 percent today.

"This is an incredible turnout; one of the best I've seen," said Wray. "I think this shows the great involvement in their community and whatever they raise, goes back to our mission of fighting leukemia."

The event, sponsored by the Brandon News and individual sponsors, began at 7 p.m. with a buffet dinner and silent auction. As she helped coordinate activities, Roll for a Cure chairwoman Danielle Triplett said the Roll for a Cure events are dedicated to Jeanie Camm, a MOMS Club member who died of Hodgkin's lymphoma Sept. 8, 2004.

Triplett said it was a night of fun, fellowship and frivolity for a serious cause.

"I think it's a fun night out for the women," said Triplett, who lives in FishHawk with her husband, Steve and daughters, Avery, 4 and Emma, eight months. "This supports not only the FishHawk neighborhoods, but those in the greater Brandon area."

While a disc jockey played popular tunes from the 1980s and 1990s, the Bunko continued and MOMS Club past-president Mag Holdermann reminded players to switch tables every two minutes, giving them a chance to meet other members.

As she took a break, MOMS member Meredith Johnson of FishHawk said it was "great" to have an evening that was both entertaining and worthwhile.

"We all have fun and give back at the same time," said Johnson, mother of Braxton, 4 and Sydney, 1. "You meet different mothers in the community. You sit, you play, then move and get to meet someone new."

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