Two longtime friends know how to celebrate life.

Seth Jones, 30, Lawrence, and Thomas Lervik, 29, Charlotte, N.C., learned from two other friends that time is valuable.

To honor those friends – John Wake, who died from complications of sickle cell anemia at 32, and Sean Younger, 29, who received a Lou Gehrig’s disease diagnosis last year – Jones and Lervik are hosting the sixth annual Laugh Olympics on Sunday.

About 85 people will start the day golfing, then go bowling and play billiards before boarding a party bus for Rick’s Place, where they will play darts. That’s also where a winner will receive a flask “trophy.” More information can be found at www.laugholympics.net.

The day will raise money for charities researching amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and sickle cell anemia. In six years, Laugh Olympics has donated about $10,000 to the charities.

The unofficial Laugh Olympics started with Jones, Lervik, Wake and a few other college friends drinking beer, trash-talking and competing at the social sports. The group graduated in 2001 from Kansas University.

When Wake died unexpectedly in May 2002, Jones, senior associate editor of Golf Course Management magazine at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, decided to continue the fun sporting event in honor of his friend and co-worker.

“One thing I loved about that guy was he never wasted time,” Jones said. “I guess then I didn’t understand that he was trying to live a full lifetime.”

He and Lervick decided to also donate money last year, after Lervick’s childhood friend, Younger, received an ALS diagnosis. Lervick recently moved to Charlotte to spend time with him.

“It’s weird to see another friend kind of stricken with this disease I previously had not known about,” Jones said.