News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
UCHRA CASA is holding an inaugural motorcycle poker run to help raise money for four counties on Saturday.
That includes Putnam, Overton, Cumberland and Smith Counties. Director Damon Prince said they support children who have been abused or neglected and are in the court system.
He said despite receiving state funding, fundraising makes a significant portion of the money that keep satellite offices open.
“By doing that it keeps us active and keeps us operating, it also keeps us in the court,” Prince said. “To be able to have volunteers, to be able to fund for training that we have for our volunteers. So it’s an all-around effort.”
Prince said riders can register at 8:00 AM at the Cookeville Community Center before setting off at 9:00 AM. He said riders pull their first card in Putnam County as they try and build the best poker hand.
“Ride the route to Cumberland County, where they will go to a check point and pull a card there and then onto Overton County, pull a card and then onto Smith County pull a card,” Prince said. “Back to Putnam County, and pull their final card and whoever has the best hand in accordance to poker is the winner of the inaugural poker run for CASA.”
Prince said when he started researching ideas to get fundraising going, he saw a high level of interest in child advocacy among motorcycle enthusiasts. He said it proved to be true once he started gauging interest among riders he knows.
“When I started asking around, some of my friends who are motorcycle enthusiasts were the first ones to say, ‘okay, yeah I definitely want to participate,” Prince said. “I’ll get my group or my club to participate as well.”
Prince said that if anyone has questions or wants to set up their registration they can reach out at (931) 528-9540 or leave a voicemail. He said that the ride will begin at 9:00 AM and should conclude at roughly 3:00 PM on April 24.
