Friday, February 13, 2009
Avoiding a split with Bowl for Kids' Sake
Big Brothers Big Sisters prepares to roll out its signature fundraiser at two bowling alleys.
Board member Terry Morrison and her husband, Jim Morrison, took part in Bowl for Kids' Sake in Christiansburg last year.
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Four hundred children were matched with caring mentors last year through the area chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The organization's primary fundraiser, Bowl for Kids' Sake, takes place Feb. 21 at Vinton Bowling Center and Feb. 28 at New River Valley SuperBowl in Christiansburg.
The bowl-a-thon has been an annual event in Southwest Virginia for more than 12 years.
"It's a fun event all about the Bigs [volunteers] and Littles [children]," said Sheila Andrews, president and chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Last year, 500 bowlers raised a total of $20,000. Organizers hope this year's event will provide 10 percent of the organization's annual operating budget of $300,000. Funds raised at the event are used to support operations for the organization, which screens volunteers and pairs them with at-risk children.
"When we match a Big with a Little, it costs $1,000 to sustain a match for a year," Andrews said. That includes the cost of staff support for the match -- visits, phone calls -- as well as background checks.
In Roanoke City Public Schools, 118 children are paired with mentors. School guidance counselors may refer children for the school program, where mentors meet with students at school for an hour each week. Through the community-based program, children are referred by friends or family members. Bigs and Littles typically spend a few hours together playing sports, going to the movies or enjoying a family meal together.
Big Brothers Big Sisters has a vision to provide a mentor for every child who requests one. However, last year, inquiries for 140 children went unfulfilled because of a lack of volunteers to serve as mentors and insufficient funding to increase staff.
"If you can just get yourself away from the TV for a couple of hours per week, you can do this," board member Roy Dwyer said. "You can spend that time with a child and make a difference. Big Brothers Big Sisters tries to help youth who could be in trouble if not for the school- and community-based programs."
Dwyer has served as a Big Brother for three young men over the past 24 years. His latest little brother, Jamie, is now a 21-year-old Marine who just got married. Jamie was 8 when he was paired with Dwyer, and although the relationship officially stops when the child turns 18, Dwyer said it never really ends.
"Jamie is family. He is my son, and my daughters' brother."
As for the bowl-a-thon, Dwyer said it is a lot of fun. He has participated almost every year for 26 years.
"BBBS needs the community's support to help us match children in our community with caring, adult role models," Andrews said. "Our work is as elementary as putting a friend in a child's life, but what we are really achieving is putting hope in a child's future. Together, we are changing the way children are growing up in the Roanoke and New River valleys."
