VALPARAISO | A John Travolta finger shot up and ponytails bounced in a sea of bobbing heads when the Isley Brother's 1959 song "Shout" boomed over the loudspeakers.
Hundreds of volunteers moved to the music while stuffing 43,000 runners' bags Saturday at Opportunity Enterprises' annual pack-a-thon for the upcoming Chicago Marathon. OE contracts with the Chicago Marathon to stuff the bags.
Church groups, Scout groups, the Purdue University North Central baseball team, the Valparaiso University women's basketball team and nearly half the Kouts High School freshman class turned out for the effort.
OE, in turn, fueled the masses with pre-work doughnuts, a candy break and a pizza lunch.
Samantha Hayes, coach of the Chesterton Middle School Science Olympiad team, said she hoped encouraging her students to volunteer at a young age will carry over when they're adults.
"As a coach, my responsibility is to help them to help in the community," Hayes said. "We forget to do that."
Team member Allison Granat, 12, of Porter, stuffed fliers into the bags as they passed down the line.
"I haven't got a paper cut yet," she said.
"I have," said teammate Brittney Kress, 13, displaying a bandaged finger.
Granat's father, Jon, said the music, spending time with his daughter and doing some good made for a fun morning despite the fast-paced work.
"I'd rather do this than run the marathon," he said.
Two members of the Valparaiso High School Key Club climbed right into the huge plastic bin holding shampoo samples to simplify their stuffing task.
In eight years, the bag-stuffing day has become more than a fundraiser for OE, the nonprofit organization aiding people with disabilities. As it has grown in popularity, it has become a can't-miss community event on the fall calendar of many service groups and individuals.
The Benjamin Franklin Middle School Builders Club doesn't simply fit the pack-a-thon into their schedule, they build their schedule around the event.
"It was really fun last year, so I came back this year," said Stephanie Clymer, a member of the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Builders Club. "When I go home ... I'll know I did good."
Clymer said it was neat to think the bags she stuffed would carry a bit of Northwest Indiana to runners from around the world. If packers see the red bags on TV on marathon day, she said, "You can think that was your bag you made."
