Mini-Golf Madness is back. The Manheim Township Education Foundation (MTEF) is ready to take another swing at creativity, community involvement and sparking the interests of students.

"We really didn't know what to expect," said MTEF board member Katie Forrester of last year's inaugural event. "It was our first year, and we were kind of like, 'We'll try it.' It really was more successful than we could've hoped for. Everyone looked very engaged, and not just the kids. The adults were having fun too. Everyone told us how wonderful the event was."

"So many things worked well, and we wanted to keep them in place," said Forrester. "We just added a couple of extra things."

Hoping to build off the momentum of 2024, MTEF is staging its second annual Mini-Golf Madness event on Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Landis Run Intermediate School, 25 Blue Streak Blvd., Lancaster. The free community event presents residents with an opportunity to play nine miniature golf holes designed and built by members of extracurricular activity clubs at Manheim Township High School (MTHS).

The Mini-Golf Madness holes will be set up in the Landis Run Intermediate School's gymnasium. There will be other family-friendly activities offered in the lobby and cafeteria, along with information on MTEF's recent work and mission.

"(Last year) I loved seeing the student collaboration," said Forrester. "I loved coming in and seeing what they came up with. (The hole designs) were all so colorful and fun. And I liked talking to the younger students. It's a community-building event."

As part of the competition, students from nine MTHS social and academic clubs design, build and decorate their mini golf holes during a creativity challenge on Friday, March 21, at Landis Run Intermediate School. The teams of four to six club members have five hours to create the finished products using only provided materials and their imaginations.

Monetary prizes, which are being sponsored by Raymond James financial services and can be applied to club activities, will be awarded for the first-, second- and third-place hole designs based on a vote of the participants.

"(The members of the clubs) are doing it as a team," said Forrester. "We want to see collaboration and teamwork. These high school students are so well-spoken and polite. It's just nice to see their ideas come together."

MTHS extracurricular activities clubs committed to compete in Mini-Golf Madness include Aevidum, Class of 2026, Disc Golf Club, Interact, Lion's Leo Club, the chess team, the tech and engineering club, UNICEF Club and Tri-M Music Honor Society. MTHS sponsors nearly 40 academic, social, service and special interest clubs.

"(The team members) pick a theme, then come in with their ideas and build their holes on Friday night," said Forrester. "It has to be child-friendly and safe, but it's really up to their own creativity. Once they get started, you can see the excitement. It's really nice to see the variety of clubs that participate. They're all so different. I think the word has gotten out that this is really fun."

"The creativity challenge is a fun way to spend time with friends and earn money for your club," said senior Nathan Whitley, a member of the tech and engineering club. "Our group enjoys building and creating, so this is the perfect event. It's fun to make obstacles and create a whole new decorated course out of cardboard and paper."

Founded in 1993, MTEF provides the Manheim Township School District with a "helping hand" in the form of monetary grants designed to enrich students' learning experiences.

"We're kind of reinventing some of our events. We're kind of looking for a signature event," said Forrester. "I was a fairly involved parent, and I didn't totally know what Manheim Township Education Foundation was or did. We've become a bigger organization, and more people are starting to know. It's like, 'Oh, they support our schools with these innovative ideas.' A lot of it is just getting the word out."

"It's an amazing way to hold events for our community, in addition to raising funds for the chess team and strengthening cooperative skills," said junior Isaac Link, a member of the chess team. "Playing the mini golf holes from the creativity challenge is completely free, and we highly encourage our local community to come out and try them."

For additional information, go to https://mtef.net.