It was family fun for a cause Saturday at the Leatherback Brewery on St. Croix for the second annual Coral Reef Academy Cornhole Tournament and Silent Auction.
While the band played, attendees enjoyed food from Leatherback and other food trucks and 14 teams competed in rounds of cornhole.
Inside the brewery, items were laid out on tables for participants to bid on in a silent auction. Outside, a field of about 90 attendees gathered to support the Coral Reef Academy and the students and families that attend the school.
All proceeds from the event will support the Coral Reef Academy and the students and families that attend the school. Coral Reef Academy specializes in education for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
“Children with autism learn differently than their peers without autism and may become frustrated at a typical school classroom, falling behind in their progress. Providing services, education, and care for students with disabilities is a costly endeavor. Upward of 70 percent of Coral Reef students receive tuition assistance to attend the school,” said Andrea Shillingford, director of the school.
Other fundraising options at the event included Leatherback Brewery donating one dollar of the cost of any beer purchased to Coral Reef, a 50-50 raffle in which the winner would receive half of the pot of money collected, with the other half going to the school, and an auction of the cornhole boards created by the children of Coral Reef Academy.
“I started this school in 2018 to help children with autism, and other children with disabilities and we started the school with about eight kids and now we are up to 20 to 22 students right now and we continue to grow and grow,” said Lindsy Wagner, president of the board and founder of Coral Reef Academy.
Coral Reef Academy has two fundraising events every year: the Cornhole Tournament and an annual golf tournament held in February. Sponsors included Island Therapy Solutions, Pinnacle Services, Seven Seas Water Corporation, and Alpine Securities USVI.
Those unable to participate in the Coral Reef Academy Cornhole Tournament and Silent Auction who would like to donate for the school and do so by Paypal on the Coral Reef Academy donation web page.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to add Seven Seas Water Corporation to the list of sponsors.