Ever wonder what small thing you could do to help children and families right here in your town? It doesn’t have to be big and complicated, it can be as simple as a game of bowling.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lanark County are proud to present their 32nd Annual Tim Hortons Bowl for Kids Sake on February 25th, 2012. The agency is currently recruiting teams to raise some money and bowl in this important event.
Tim Hortons Bowl for Kids Sake is the agency’s largest fundraiser with 30% of its annual operating budget coming from this event.
This is a straight forward fundraiser - interested participants can call the Big Brothers Big Sisters office and enter their team. Each team receives a kit that includes pledge sheets, and is encouraged to raise funds to support the agency’s mentoring programs. Teams come out and bowl on the 25th where there are prizes, music, and a lot of laughs. Don’t worry if you’re not a bowler – it’s a fun time where neighbours come together for a great cause! Remember – It’s not about the bowling!
Your team can be as small as two people or as large as your whole company or large family. There is room for all, and every dollar matters.
For teams participating in the event, funds can also be raised on line, which makes asking for money a whole lot easier!
Corporate sponsors have covered all the overhead costs of the event, which means that all funds raised by teams go directly to fund mentoring programs for local children. These sponsors include; Crain & Schooley Insurance Brokers, Prodecal, Cogeco, Hinton Dodge Chrysler, EMC, Kilmarnock Enterprise, Lake 88, Holland Valley Tile, Jack FM, and TD Canada Trust Carleton Place. Tim Hortons is the title sponsor for this popular event.
“The community believes in what we’re doing”, says Jennifer Miller, Executive Director for the agency, “They commit their time and money each year to ensure that we can continue to offer the programs we do to children right here in Lanark County.”
Bowl for Kids is a Canadian tradition from Coast to Coast. It is the principal fund raising effort for the majority of Big Brother Big Sister agencies associated with the National Organization. In Lanark County, Bowl for Kids takes place in Perth, Smiths Falls and Carleton Place.
For those interested in supporting the agency there are a number of ways to do so, including:
- Entering a team – round up friends, family, coworkers, and call the Big Brothers Big Sisters office. It’s a great time for a great cause!
- Making a donation – donate online, go to the office, pledge a bowler. Every dollar counts!
- Donate a door prize to make the event even more fun for participants.
Funds raised go to help children reach their full potential through consistent, dependable and non-conditional adult friendship. Over the years hundreds of children in Lanark County have benefited from these relationships and the adults involved have overwhelmingly expressed their enthusiasm for the friendship they have enjoyed.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lanark County began in 1973 and has been providing one-on-one and group mentoring programs to children throughout the County ever since. There are currently over 300 children in their programs, which now include Traditional Matching, In School Mentoring, and various Group Mentoring programs.
The agency is currently experiencing some amazing growth, however, they receive no direct, sustainable government funding, so they work hard to remain financially able to continue providing our growing list of programs.
Children in the programs are matched with a caring adult volunteer, and they spend 3 to 5 hours per week together. This is a program that focuses on friendship, and helps children who need a mentor to look up to. Often the children in the programs come from single parent homes, and are need of a role model and someone to talk to. Adult volunteers are fully screened and come from all walks of life, some are young adults, some are seniors – it’s the sort of volunteer program that can accommodate almost anyone with a few hours to spare.
Like more information? Interested in registering or donating? Please contact the office at 613-283-0570 or check out the Bowl for Kids web site at www.lanarkcounty.kintera.org/bfks.