Rochester Hosts ‘Cornhole for a Cause’ 

by Hugo Bravo 

In summer of 2023, the young leaders’ group of The Salvation Army Rochester Area Services were brainstorming ideas for projects that could be as successful as Rochester’s past golf tournaments.  

“Those tournaments are very popular and our biggest non-kettle moneymakers,” says Michael Gilbert, director of development of greater Rochester. “But they also require a lot of logistics, overhead expenses, good weather, and people who know how to play.” 

A cornhole tournament, which would require less preparation and allow for teams of two, was suggested. That fall, the first “Cornhole for a Cause” tournament took place in The Salvation Army Northwest Corps’ multipurpose room. Space and the number of teams were limited, but the event was a success. Rochester Area Services began looking into making 2024’s tournament even bigger.

This October, the second Cornhole for a Cause was held at Hot Shots Volleyball, a local Rochester sports facility with ample space for 70 beanbag toss players. As 35 teams competed in elimination-style cornhole brackets for beginners and returning players, The Salvation Army sold food tickets and hosted an auction raffle for products donated by sponsors. Each cornhole set was sponsored by a local vendor in the community, with a red kettle stand behind each set with their organization’s name. 

“It’s expensive to be a sponsor for a golf tournament. This had a much lower entry level price,” says Gilbert. “Also, this event had virtually no overhead; half of each team’s registration fees went to cover the cost of the facility.” 

Another benefit of hosting the event at Hot Shots was having their staff, experienced in managing tournament brackets, on hand to keep score and keep track of teams advancing.  

“When we did it ourselves at the corps, it was difficult keeping track of the winners, and we could only guarantee that each team would play twice. This year, without having to worry about lack of space or running the brackets, every team played at least five games,” says Gilbert. “This gave us time to meet and mingle with the teams. Cornhole for a Cause brought out new sponsors and organizations that our golf tournaments would not. 

“That’s the real end goal of events like this: to build new relationships with those who have never been part of a Salvation Army event before.”