BROOKINGS — Cornhole players are invited to throw a few bags while helping a good cause during a fundraiser on April 12 to benefit a family displaced by a house fire last month. Saul Reyes is organizing the event and said they’ll hold registration at 1 p.m. at the Brookings Inn, 2500 Sixth St. 

“We’re doing a cornhole fundraiser. So basically it will be $40 a team, $20 per person,” Reyes said. “Besides the tournament itself, we are going to have raffles and silent auction items. There’s different businesses from the community that have donated gift cards or actual items to us. We’re going to raffle those off. Then we’ve got some other friends and family who have donated bigger items and those are going to be in the silent auction.”

Josh Waller, fiancée Andrea Sanudo and four children escaped uninjured from a house fire at 217 Medary Ave. S. on March 13. Reyes and his wife are friends of the family and have been helping. 

“They ended up losing everything that was inside the house to fire and smoke damage. So we ended up taking them in that night, and we’ve been letting them stay at our house,” Reyes said. “I was friends with Josh Waller … and my wife’s actually been really good friends with (Andrea) probably longer than me and Josh have been friends. … We met them at church — GracePoint Church. I don’t know how many years it’s been now. I’m part of the Brookings Cornhole League, so I throw bags often. Josh also throws bag. So I know him from there, too.”

Reyes said his house is flush with activity, but he and his family have been happy to help.

“There’s some times where it gets a little hectic, but it feels good,” he said. “They’re doing OK. At first it was pretty hard for them obviously. You lose all your belongings. It’s all just memories and everything is gone. The only thing they had is whatever clothes they were wearing when they got out.”

Reyes said given his and Waller’s shared passion for cornhole, a tournament fundraiser seemed a natural fit.

“We’ve been doing (the Brookings Cornhole League) now for about three years. We do two leagues a year — one in the summer, one in the winter,” Reyes said. “It’s 8 weeks long, and we have two different divisions. We have a competitive division and then we have a social division. That way you don’t get newcomers that come and have to play against people who’ve been playing for years. … Then throughout the year, we have random blind draw tournaments. You show up, draw for your partner and don’t know who you’re going to get.”

In addition to cornhole, Saturday’s fundraiser features a free will meal and a cash bar.

“We provide the food, and everyone can donate what they want,” Reyes said. “Everything goes to the Waller family. Then we’ll do the beer sales too, and whatever beer gets sold — the money goes to them, too.”

Reyes encourages everyone to come out and play cornhole or just help a family in need. 

“Just show up the day of the event with a partner and your $40 per team. There’s also a GoFundMe. If you can’t come, you can donate that way,” Reyes said. “This isn’t just for competitive people. This is for any age, any people. It doesn’t matter if you’re a backyard-thrower or whatever. Anybody can come out and play. It’s just about having fun and helping.”

More information is at the Brookings Cornhole League Facebook page. The GoFundMe is at https://gofund.me/86e9f595.

Contact Jay Roe at jroe@brookingsregister.com.