Bowl for Kids a success
Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2024 was a big hit for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley last week.
The mentoring agency took over VB’s Entertainment Centre in Winkler Thursday afternoon and evening to welcome over 100 people for a couple hours of bowling in support of their work with local youth.
Including in-kind donations from businesses, the event raised about $27,000.
“I think it’s a good number considering we didn’t sell out the teams,” said executive director Jenelle Neufeld. “I’m happy with it. And I think everyone had fun. The feeling in the bowling alley was really positive, so it was a good day.”
Big Bros tried something new this year with the annual event, moving it from the usual Saturday to a weekday. Neufeld said the change was pretty well-received, but they’ll be sending out a survey in the weeks ahead to see which day people prefer for next year.
“It’s going to be open to everybody—people who have participated in the past, people who participated this year, and people who hope to participate in the future—just to see what they’re thinking.”
The money raised at Bowl for Kids goes to support Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mentoring matches.
“All of our fundraisers go to our general programming fund, so that includes our traditional community matches, our Go Girls program, which is our group programming, and then we also started teen in-school mentoring this year,” Neufeld said, adding they’re also looking at developing an after-school mentoring program in the near future.
Neufeld sends out thanks to everyone who took part in Bowl for Kids this year.
“I would like to send a special shout out and thank you to Access Credit Union for being our event sponsor this year,” she said. “And to the community and all the businesses that came on as lane sponsors or prize sponsors—the endless support that we get from our community is so appreciated.
“We’re a pretty small agency, but the impact in the community is huge,” Neufeld added. “The match itself is between the child or youth and the volunteer, but that match also impacts the family of that child or youth. It reaches a lot farther than people realize.
“All these kids are going to grow up and they are going to be the next generation that’s going to contribute to our society and our community. I think it’s really important that we take time to invest in them and make sure they’re getting all the support they need to thrive and be the best version of themselves.”
