5th Annual Chuck-A-Puck at Hermantown YMCA Boosts Scholarships, Memberships, Food Programs

The Lake Superior YMCA’s Hermantown branch staged its 5th annual Chuck-A-Puck fundraiser at the YMCA at Essentia Wellness Center on Monday, March 2, 2026, with community donors contributing more than $17,000 worth of prizes and organizers targeting roughly $13,000 to $14,000 to support local scholarships, memberships and food access programs. Organizers called Chuck-A-Puck the Y’s largest fundraiser of the year and said the prize pool included restaurant gift cards, event tickets and kid’s toys.

Participants bought hockey pucks beginning Feb. 16 and came to throw them onto targets on the gym floor for a chance to win prizes; puck pricing was set at 2 for $20, 5 for $40 and 13 for $100, with pucks available at the Hermantown YMCA. Organizers expected about 2,000 pucks to be purchased for the event and scheduled the fundraiser to run Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., while adding a new Kids Club this year for children ages 12 and under to compete for their own prizes.

Emily Ranta, branch executive director at the Hermantown Y, highlighted the fundraiser’s practical effects on local services and donors beyond the immediate area: “We have people purchasing pucks in Florida right now. We have folks in Montana purchasing pucks because they believe in what we’re doing here in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin and it’s an opportunity for them to give back.” Ranta tied the proceeds directly to financial-assistance programs, saying, “All of the funds raised goes right back into our community, so it goes into our financial assistance pot which allows us to provide financial assistance for memberships. It allows us to provide three-month memberships for folks in transitional housing. When things like tragedies happen, with the Hermantown gas explosion, we were able to offer all of those folks a free three-month membership to the Y due to fundraisers like this.”

Food security was a concrete line-item in organizers’ plans: Ranta said the Hermantown branch distributes 40 to 60 grocery bags of food a week, primarily to seniors, to help stretch grocery budgets. That distribution, along with membership assistance and scholarship dollars, represented the stated priorities organizers said Chuck-A-Puck proceeds would fund.

Brian Trettel, Membership Experience Director for the Lake Superior YMCA, underscored the event’s year-to-year growth: “It’s great to see every year this check a puck gets bigger and bigger, and every year I get done with it and go, Oh, it’s never going to get bigger. And then this year we have more prizes than ever,” Trettel said, noting the community’s role in donating the prize pool valued at over $17,000.

Last year’s fundraiser brought in $12,000, and this year’s goal was set at $13,000 with broader estimates placing the target in the low-to-mid $10,000s. Organizers said final tallies and the distribution schedule for scholarship and assistance dollars will be confirmed after receipts and prize claims are totaled; Lake Superior YMCA Hermantown staff including Ranta and Trettel are the contacts for those follow-up details.