Big Brothers Big Sisters wraps up Bowl For Kids' Sake
Apr. 26—The sound of pins hitting the hardwood floors echoed as 14 different teams gathered around the lanes.
Stillwater Big Brothers Big Sisters hosted the Bowl For Kids' Sake bowling party at Frontier Lanes Bowling Alley Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
The campaign is one that is done by BBBS affiliates across the country to sustain and grow their mentoring programs every year, said Stephanie Fry, Stillwater area director BBBS. It costs nearly $2,000 to support a match between a Big and a Little for an entire year.
"We have created 15 new matches since January," Fry said. "We are at our highest number of kids served since 2015 and need the funding to support that growth."
Bowl For Kids' Sake brings in thousands of dollars for the organization, and the Stillwater community engages heavily with the fundraiser by creating teams, hosting partnered fundraising events and collecting donations.
"Sometimes there are fundraising competitions between teams and sometimes teams choose creative fundraising like a bake sale, a lemonade stand, or even a sports tournament, and any number of other fun ideas to generate more dollars for their team," Fry said.
The 14 teams that were invited to the party raised $750 or more for Stillwater BBBS. In these teams were college students, businesses, and bigs and littles.
"One of the fun things about it, too, is that we had Dave Hunziker, voice of the Cowboys, as our emcee," Fry said. "And so he kind of basically hosted us all night long.
Fry said the vibes within the bowling alley were fun, and every participant was excited to be in attendance. Guests were able to enjoy two hours of bowling, door prizes, food and drinks and other games.
Businesses such as Sonic, Two Fellas moving company, the Masonic Lodge donated door prizes.
Stillwater BBBS has a traveling trophy for the Bowl For Kids' sake event, and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity will be added for raising the most money ($5,500).
Fry said Stillwater BBBS got close to its goal on Monday, so the staff decided to raise it. The initial goal was $24,000, and the new goal is $27,000 — which has almost been reached, as well.
There are still multiple activities going on for Bowl For Kids' Sake. A bowling pin decor contest has taken place during all of April, which includes 12 or 13 businesses.
For this event, businesses decorate a bowling pin, and, for $1, residents can vote online or in person for their favorite decorated bowling pin. Whichever business raises the most money by May 1 will be the winner of the contest.
Bowling without a ball will be at Stonecloud on May 1. Guests can pay $20 to bring a biodegradable item to bowl with, and the person whose ball does not ruin will receive a prize.
Bowl For Kids' Sake will be wrapping up as May nears, but there is still time to give. All proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship program, which pairs Bigs with Littles who may need help with self-esteem, decision-making and social skills.
