By Corey Weir
Big Brothers Big Sisters is taking their organization on the road, to a bowling alley near you.
Over the next couple of months, Big Brothers Big Sisters is putting on a program called Bowling for Kids Sake. It’s a fundraiser to help support their programs in the community.
Karen Shaver, Vice President of Agency Services for Big Brothers Big Sisters, said they have 118 agencies around the country that offer a variety of group mentoring programs to accommodate every different child.
“In 2012, Big Brothers Big Sisters mentored just over 40,000 children,” said Shaver. “Big Brothers Big Sisters has been around for quite some time, we are going into our 101st year of operation.”
Kate Maynard, Manager of Fundraising Events at Big Brothers Big Sisters, said that their goal is to raise $350,000.
“Bowling for Kids Sake is a pledge based program and we feel with the amount of teams in our events, we can reach our goal,” said Maynard.
It takes $1,500 on average to pair an adult with a child. With the goal of $350,000, it could match over 230 pairings in Toronto alone.
“We have a number of different events, six to be exact, like Cosmic Bowling and Pub Night for the younger demographic, Corporate and Media Day, where there are a lot of TV and radio teams that take part, among many more,” said Maynard. “This year’s theme is a neon theme, so we are bowling for a brighter future.”
The Toronto Police Service are taking part in the festivities this year, as they do every year.
Constable Ryan Willmer, Crime Prevention Officer for 23 Division of Toronto Police Service, is taking part and said they are sending two teams this year. It will be made up of Constables all the way up to Staff Sergeants.
“We’ve been reaching out to the community through social media, trying to get a few members of the community to join our team, show them what it’s all about and to help get the information out on Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Willmer. “This year we are looking to raise around $1500, five people a team at $150 each, seems attainable.”
The first event begins Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Newtonbrook Bowlerama, and will have events running periodically for weeks after.
Go to www.bbbst.com for dates and times.