Bowling is no longer your grandmother's game.

Of course, Granny can be on your team next Saturday as you have a blast and raise money for a great local cause at the same time.

The ninth annual Bowl for Jason's Friends Foundation is Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at El Mark-o Lanes in Casper.

Teams of five collect pledges prior to Saturday and then bowl for about an hour. The event includes lots of prizes and giveaways, as well as free food and soft drinks for participating bowlers.

T-shirts are given to those who get to the event with $50 or more in pledges and fabulous prizes await the adult and youth who collect the most money in pledges.

Team packets are available at any First Interstate Bank location, any Hilltop Bank location, US Bank, El Mark-o Lanes or the Jason's Friends office at 111 S. Durbin.

The event is open to anybody - competitive or recreational bowlers, experienced or first-timers. Children are welcome, as long as they adhere to some basic bowling etiquette, like waiting for the person next to them and trying to keep the ball in their own lane.

The fundraiser will help families in Casper and throughout Wyoming who have children with brain or spinal cord tumors or any other childhood cancer.

Providing primarily financial assistance without a lot of red tape, the organization assists with travel expenses, rent, utilities, insurance, autos, groceries, clothing and day-to-day living expenses so that the family's first priority can be supporting the child who is ill without worrying about how the rent will be paid.

Jason's Friends is a volunteer, nonprofit corporation founded after friends of Lisa and Rocky Eades saw what the family went through as their 9-year-old son, Jason, battled and eventually died of a brain stem tumor in November 1995.

For more information, call Jason's Friends Foundation at 235-3421 or go to www.jasonsfriends.com.

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@casperstartribune.net.