BATON ROUGE — The Merakey Foundation held a bowling tournament at All-Star Lanes on Friday to promote its mental health services. 

Foundation staff members and other bowlers participated in the friendly competition to fundraise for Merakey, which provides mental health services for both children and adults, as well as support for people dealing with addiction or developmental disabilities. 

"We're here today as a fundraiser, bringing the consumers and the staff together, just as a fun event, to get everybody together, try to increase community awareness about the services that we provide to the clients," Merakey Executive Director Alison Hennessey said.

Similar events were held at bowling alleys in California, Pennsylvania and Virginia.