As you are very well aware bingo has been much in the news lately and quite naturally this has led to some curiosity on the part of our local citizenry about the dispersal of bingo income by the American Legion Post 80 here in Andalusia. The vast majority of those who attend our twice-weekly games are aware of where our proceeds are spent. We believe that if more people knew of our community involvement, they may be inclined to join our efforts. You see, we donated nearly $28,000 to worthy causes in the last year. Here is an itemized list of expenditures from January 2009-March 2010, omitting specific names because we respect their privacy:

$3,800 to individuals who have health issues

$1,000 to persons for special needs

$2,400 to sponsor young men to Boys State and pay the bus driver

$2,800 to American Legion Baseball for youngsters

$800 to the Veterans Honor Flight

$14,000 annually to deserving young people for scholarships (applications available at all high schools in the county including city schools and LBW in the school counselor’s office)

In addition, we are donating another $1,000 to the Honor Flight this year and another $500 to that organization in memory of our military comrades who have fallen and an additional $1,000 to a cancer victim.

Yes, we do pay our caller a small stipend but the Post 80 Ladies Auxiliary and Post members who work bingo are all volunteers.

Respectfully,

Jim Bundy

Public Relations Post 80