Supporters Put Their Minds to the Test to Raise Money for Centre Volunteers in Medicine

It was a Battle of the Minds and in the end philanthropy was the big winner.

Centre Volunteers in Medicine and the State College Rotary Club hosted the 6th Annual Battle of the Minds Wednesday night. The popular event, held at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, includes a cocktail hour and dinner but the big draw is the professionally run trivia game.

“People compete as tables,” says Cheryl White, Executive Director of CVIM. “It’s $1,500 for a table, but $150 for one ticket.”

White hopes to earn $90,000 from the fundraiser. All funds will support CVIM which provides medical and dental care to low-income residents who can’t afford health care.

In addition to the trivia contest supporters also got to bid on various items during a charity auction. Those items were donated by the Carnegie Inn and Spa, Confer’s Jewelers and Penn State Golf Courses.

Roy Adams, a representative of the Rotary Club, says the club has been involved with the fundraiser since it’s beginning.

“We were looking for an event in the area that was a bit different,” Adams says. “There are a lot of dinners and golf matches. People really like the trivia contest.”

Adams says the event has grown in popularity in the past years, and more tables seem to be added every year.

Jens Holger, a partner with the Hartman Employee Benefits group, has been coming to the event for four or five years. He originally became involved with CVIM through a good friend who was involved in the group’s medical program.

Holger says he hopes he does better in the competition this year. “We have yet to get into the top 25 percentile,” Holger says. “We changed our team around, so we’re hopeful this year.”