The name of the game was helping the poor Saturday night as Charleston’s chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul hosted a trivia contest at St. Charles Borromeo Church.

An international charity with over 700,000 volunteers, according to a pamphlet handed out at the trivia night, the SVdP’s goal is to providing assistance to those in need. Some come to them when they come up short for water bills. Others seek the organization’s assistance when they cannot pay medical bills. The SVdP even provides volunteers available to listen to people’s problems.

The SVdP refers people to other agencies if it cannot meet their needs. These agencies include the Salvation Army, the Civic Association, Charleston Township and the Embarras River Basin Agency, which provides energy to low-income households.

The trivia contest cost $10 per person plus extra money for food all to benefit the SVdP’s cause.

Categories included “Cars R Us,” “Sports Corner” and “Love Thy Neighbor: Mexico.” Tables of up to 10 people worked as teams to answer questions about antiques, nursery rhymes, recent celebrity deaths and the human body. At the end of each round, the teams had two minutes to review their answers and run them up to the judges’ table.

SVdP chapter secretary Roy Lanham said the turnout was great as he handed out free raffle tickets to each of the approximately 200 attendees.

Participants took an intermission at the halfway point, during which the SVdP engaged competitors in a different fundraising game. Those who chose to participate stood up and held $1 bills to their heads or “tails.” At the flip of a coin, players were narrowed down, their bills adding to the funds, until the game was down to a three-way tie.

Master of Ceremonies Matt Piescinski called the situation a “Mexican standoff.”

Twelve tosses later, two of the three players were seated. Only Charleston resident Dian Ensign remained standing.

“I never win anything,” Ensign said.

Following the seventh category, a Chicago Cubs-themed table led the other attendees in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

At the trivia night, the SVdP also acknowledged St. Charles’ new pastor, Rev. Hyland Smith. An Eastern alumnus, Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1999, then returned to earn his master’s in clinical psychology in 2006.

Mallory Kutnick can be reached at 581-2812 or mbkutnick@eiu.edu