TOLEDO — A summer of reading has turned into a head start on college savings for one Northwest Ohio family, as Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage announced the winner of its 2026 Toledo Mud Hens Home Run Readers sweepstakes on Oct. 15.
Melissa Bentrup received the grand prize, a $2,500 college savings award, and placed the money in her child’s Ohio 529 account. Bentrup attended the Mud Hens’ Sept. 5 game against the Indianapolis Indians, where she was joined by family members Kevin, Lori, Neal and Olivia Bentrup for an on-field check presentation.
Dave Kemp, Ohio 529’s interim executive director, took part in the presentation at Fifth Third Field. After the ceremony, the family watched the game from a Mud Hens suite. The sweepstakes’ second-place winner, Drew Saltzstein, also joined them in the suite with his wife, Jenny, and their son, Noah.
Home Run Readers runs together with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s summer reading program. The Mud Hens and Ohio 529 team up on the sweepstakes each summer to encourage families to read together and to keep children from losing ground academically over the summer break, a slide educators work to prevent.
The program ties a ballpark reward to a library habit: families take part in summer reading through the library system, and the sweepstakes gives them a chance to turn those reading hours into money set aside for education after high school, whether that path leads to a degree, a trade credential or another qualified program in the years ahead.
Ohio 529, the state’s CollegeAdvantage savings program, has operated since 1989. Accounts grow tax-free and withdrawals for qualified education costs are tax-free, and Ohio residents can claim a state income tax deduction on contributions. The money can be used at accredited programs nationwide, from four-year universities and community colleges to technical schools, certificate programs and registered apprenticeships.
For the Bentrup family, the award lands years before the tuition bills it will help pay — exactly the point of the program, organizers say. Ohio 529 thanked everyone who took part in this summer’s reading and invited families to watch for future college savings sweepstakes through its email announcements and Explorer page.