Cornhole: The ultimate low-key game to enjoy with a few friends and a couple of cold ones on the weekend. You simply show up, grab yourself a small bean bag to throw, talk some trash and then try to get that bean bag as close to the wooden hole as possible, preferably while knocking your opponent’s bag out of your way. It’s more or less a NERF-style version of playing horseshoes, and it’s one of the most popular bar games in America. 

This Saturday at Steel Hands Brewing on Foreman Street, you can test out your cornhole skills and help out a worthy local cause at the same time. Steel Hands and the Junior Achievement Young Professionals invite you to a cornhole tournament starting at 5:30 p.m.

The tournament is open to adults 18 and over, and will be monitored by YPA volunteers, with prizes awarded to the winners. Food and drink will be available for purchase courtesy of Steel Hands Brewing during the games.

The Cornhole YPA Tournament serves a positive purpose as well. The tournament was created to raise awareness of and funds for Junior Achievement of Greater Columbia.

The organization works to help young people discover what’s possible in their lives by helping them connect what they learn in school with life outside the classroom. Through that connection, JA of Greater Columbia encourages participants to invest in their future, to gain a better understanding of how the world works and to pursue their dreams.

 JA’s proven lessons in financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship have been shown to positively impact the lives of young people. Even better, these lessons align with national and state educational standards and are delivered to millions of students across the country with the help of partners and volunteers from the local community.

Research shows that JA alumni are more likely to have a college degree, feel confident managing money, have career success and have started a business as an adult.

The JA’s Young Professionals Association, the team hosting the cornhole tournament this weekend, is made up of diverse young professionals in the 43-county region that JAGSC serves in the three districts (the Upstate, the Midlands and the Low-Country).  The purpose of the YPA is to build awareness of Junior Achievement of Greater Columbia and oversee annual fundraising events.

This brings us back to the cornhole tourney at Steel Hands. Do you need to know anything about Junior Achievement of Greater Columbia to join the fun and enjoy yourself? No, of course not. But it might make you a little more likely to go, since the potential community rewards are so rich.