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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8211; Getting a little help from his father, 5-year-old Gavin Menghini lined up his brightly colored golf ball and took a swing.</p><p>Flying down between two pool noodles acting as bumpers, the ball found its way through a small hole carved into a pile of cardboard boxes, stopping just under the end of a second box tower laid just before the makeshift hole - and a bookend.</p><p>Menghini and his family were just one of hundreds of participants that came out to the Osterhout Library on Sunday for a fun-filled afternoon of mini golf.</p><p>The library collaborated with the Rotary Club of Wilkes-Barre to hold its second annual All &#8220;Fore&#8221; One Mini Golf Classic fundraiser to benefit the library&#8217;s children&#8217;s program.</p><p>The Times Leader was a media sponsor of the event.</p><p>While the group has supported the library&#8217;s children&#8217;s program for more than 30 years, Rotary President Beth Doherty said their normal outdoor gold tournament was seeing diminishing attendance over the last few years.</p><p>So when member Gus Genetti came up with the idea to have a mini golf tournament inside the library, Doherty said they took a shot.</p><p>&#8220;We just fell in love with the idea,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We thought it was crazy, but we found out that there&#8217;s mini golf tournaments inside libraries around the country, and we kinda just winged it.&#8221;</p><p>The event featured 18 holes of mini golf throughout the library, created by everything from old books to pool noodles, cardboard boxes and more. Each hole was sponsored by a local business or group, such as Fidelity Bank and Wendy&#8217;s.</p><p>Osterhout Director of Development and Community Services Chris Kelly said changing the event has also brought in more benefits than just attendance.</p><p>Creating an indoor, all-ages event allows an entire family to come out and enjoy time together while also reacquainting many with the setup of the Osterhout.</p><p>&#8220;Suddenly your realizing that your in this great institution, and hopefully we&#8217;ll get them to come back,&#8221; he said.</p><p>While he didn&#8217;t have a set goal, Kelly said he would be happy to beat last year&#8217;s numbers for the event which totaled almost 170 players and roughly $8,300 raised.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great to see that a community organization like the Rotary of Wilkes-Barre supports the library, and specifically the children&#8217;s wing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The children in the community need that support.&#8221;</p><p>Funding for children&#8217;s programs at the library is music to Elaine Rash&#8217;s ears. The youth services coordinator quickly rattled off more than 20 different youth programs that could benefit from the event&#8217;s funds.</p><p>Last year, she said the library held more than 520 children&#8217;s programs overall attended by more than 10,500 children. The Osterhout also visits several area schools on a weekly basis as part of an outreach program for area youth.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot that goes on, and a lot of it requires funding to buy supplies for whatever we&#8217;re doing,&#8221; she said, noting the 26 programs centered around STEM education and a popular LapTotts program that acquaints young children with computer skills.</p><p>After completing his turn Menghini waited for the rest of his family before moving on to the seventh hole. His mother, Amanda, said she heard of the event through Facebook and was asked to attend by a friend.</p><p>What she didn&#8217;t expect was an afternoon of real, family-friendly fun all while supporting a great cause.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re having a blast,&#8221; she said as her younger son took his shot. &#8220;This is so much fun.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">TL, the Times Leader mascot, took time out from greeting golfers Sunday at the Osterhout Free Library to check out one of the library&#8217;s books. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_20190324_121228.jpg</photo0><caption0>TL, the Times Leader mascot, took time out from greeting golfers Sunday at the Osterhout Free Library to check out one of the library&#8217;s books. </caption0><photoCredit0>Diane McGee | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ben Neher, 6, gets ready to putt during the All &#8216;Fore&#8217; Books Mini Golf Classic at the Osterhout Free Libraby on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ben Neher, 6, gets ready to putt during the All &#8216;Fore&#8217; Books Mini Golf Classic at the Osterhout Free Libraby on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Emily Neher, 3, of Shavertown navigates her golf ball toward the hole, which is a book end, during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s fundraiser Sunday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Emily Neher, 3, of Shavertown navigates her golf ball toward the hole, which is a book end, during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s fundraiser Sunday morning. </caption2><photoCredit2>Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kristen Dudzik, of Wilkes-Barre, signs up for the raffle Sunday morning during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s mini golf fundraiser to benefit the children&#8217;s wing of the library. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kristen Dudzik, of Wilkes-Barre, signs up for the raffle Sunday morning during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s mini golf fundraiser to benefit the children&#8217;s wing of the library. </caption3><photoCredit3>Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gianni Bruno, 7, of Larksville, putts the ball into the hole during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s fundraiser Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttl032519minigolf-5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Gianni Bruno, 7, of Larksville, putts the ball into the hole during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s fundraiser Sunday afternoon. </caption4><photoCredit4>Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttlo32519minigolf-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Stacie Arnaud, of Dallas, helps her daughter Loretta, 3, putt the golf ball during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s All &#8216;Fore&#8217; Books Mini Golf Classic on Sunday morning. Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_ttlo32519minigolf-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Stacie Arnaud, of Dallas, helps her daughter Loretta, 3, putt the golf ball during Osterhout Free Library&#8217;s All &#8216;Fore&#8217; Books Mini Golf Classic on Sunday morning. Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </caption5><photoCredit5>Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Mini golf event raises funds for Osterhout</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mini golf event raises funds for Osterhout Free Library