Perham teen's 100-fish fundraiser backs local families' care

Bryce Olson, a Perham-area teen, is staging a fish-a-thon today with a target of 100 catches to raise money for Gabby’s Gang, the local nonprofit that runs an annual fishing tournament to support families with children who are sick. Olson is asking friends, neighbors and local businesses to pledge either a set amount per fish or to make flat donations to back his effort.

The fundraiser combines a clear numeric goal with a simple giving format. Reaching 100 fish at a pledge rate of $1 per fish would translate into $100, and higher per-fish pledges scale linearly, making the math easy for small donors and community groups to follow. That simplicity helps volunteer-driven, small-scale campaigns convert local goodwill into predictable support for families facing medical hardship.

Gabby’s Gang operates in Otter Tail County with an annual tournament that serves dual purposes: it raises direct financial assistance for families and sustains a network of volunteers who coordinate events, logistics and outreach. Local fundraising drives such as Olson’s plug directly into that volunteer ecosystem, expanding capacity without incurring significant administrative overhead. For a rural county where formal social services can be thinly stretched, community-led funds can provide timely help for medical travel, equipment or household needs that otherwise accumulate stress and expense.

Olson’s initiative also underscores civic engagement among young people in the county. Youth-led fundraisers can increase community social capital by mobilizing classmates, neighbors and local businesses, and they create visible pathways for leadership development. Those local networks often persist beyond a single event, bolstering future volunteer recruitment and grassroots fundraising capacity throughout the county.

For residents considering support, the pledge-per-fish or flat-donation options lower the barrier to giving. Small, repeatable gifts can add up quickly when returned to families in need. Local businesses that donate prizes, match pledges or host collection points amplify the financial impact while gaining community goodwill.

What comes next is both immediate and practical: Olson will continue collecting pledges and tallying catches until he reaches his 100-fish goal, and proceeds will funnel to Gabby’s Gang to be deployed through its existing tournament and family-support activities. For Otter Tail County, the event is a reminder that civic muscle often comes from neighborhood-sized efforts that, collectively, help steady families when they face medical crises. Supporters who want to help can look for local announcements about pledge methods and drop-off options in Perham and nearby towns as Olson completes his fish-a-thon.