The YMCA of Greenville is teaming up with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team to host a fundraising event called Bowling with the Bits, set for October 8, 2026, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Spare Time Greenville, located at 822 Congaree Road. The evening will feature bowling, team challenges, a silent auction, and refreshments, with proceeds supporting the YMCA of Greenville's RECESS program.
The event, first detailed by the Greenville Journal, builds on an existing relationship between the two organizations. The Swamp Rabbits already list the YMCA among their corporate and community partners, according to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Swamp Rabbits are scheduled to open their 2026–27 ECHL regular season at home against the South Carolina Stingrays on October 16.
Tickets for Bowling with the Bits are available for purchase online, and the YMCA of Greenville is also seeking sponsors for the event. More information can be found at e.givesmart.com/events/poj.
What RECESS Actually Teaches
RECESS — short for Recreation, Education, Community, Exercise, Social and Service — serves post-high school adults with diverse abilities, helping participants build skills in fitness, nutrition, independent living, community engagement, and social responsibility. The program was established in 2013 after research identified a steep drop-off in community-based opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities once they finish high school, with seed funding from the Barbara Stone Foundation launching the initiative to fill that gap in Greenville, per the Barbara Stone Foundation.
What began as a program in its original form has since expanded. Earlier this year, the YMCA of Greenville expanded the RECESS framework further, launching a pilot RECESS Teen Summer Day Camp at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville for high school students ages 14 to 17 with diverse abilities.
Why Inclusion Programming Matters Statewide
The need for programs like RECESS extends well beyond Greenville. Roughly 1.18 million adults in South Carolina — about 1 in 3 statewide — live with a disability, according to CDC figures cited by the South Carolina Department of Public Health. State health officials have said they collaborate with nonprofits such as Able South Carolina to improve inclusion and access for residents with disabilities.
Healthcare is also part of the broader discussion around disability.
Greenville CAN, or Collaborative Action Network, is an area-wide coalition hosted by the Barbara Stone Foundation.
A Hockey Franchise With Deep Local Roots
The Swamp Rabbits are an ECHL team and list the YMCA among their corporate and community partners.
For families connected to RECESS, though, the event's real value lies in what the proceeds fund: continued access to fitness, social, and independent-living programming for adults with diverse abilities.
