The Niles Scream Park has raised a record amount for charity throughout 2025.
The park announced this week it’s raised more than $153,000 to be given out to more than 70 children’s groups, civic groups, churches, and other organizations. Park manager Aaron Smith tells us the Niles Scream Park is a non-profit that donates all of its revenues to charities represented by the volunteers who run the attraction each year.
“The over 70 different groups that were out there this season, it can just be one member of a particular group, or there could be 30 in a particular group, but their hours are accumulated throughout the entire off season, as well as when we’re open to all the time that takes to get the park ready, as well as when the park is open for people to enjoy,” Smith said. “Those hours are all kept track of, and then based on the success of the season, at the end of the year, a check is cut for those amount of hours to that group.”
Smith says the Scream Park also supported six scholarships this year.
Smith tells us the park has finally seen a rebound from the pandemic, which affected attendance and charitable giving. That’s led to the record amount raised.
“Since the unfortunate pandemic and all that stuff that we don’t like to ever think of anymore, it’s been a little bit of a struggle because it kind of just threw a wrench into the world. And of course it trickles down to non-profit groups and recruitment. And we are starting to see a comeback of having what we need or what we would like to see in terms of operating the park.”
Organizations receiving donations this year include the Boy Scouts, Haunters Against Hate, the Lakeshore High School stage crew, the LaPorte Little Theatre, and Haunters for Hope.
Smith notes that since 1996, the Niles Scream Park has donated more than $2.8 million to organizations around Southwest Michigan and Indiana.
