Year after year, Becky Kennedy walks in the bowling center for Bowl for Kids’ Sake with an envelope stuffed bigger with checks.
All bowlers pay an entry fee to participate in the annual fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). Some teams are sponsored by area businesses, organizations, churches or individual supporters. Of course, folks are welcome to pay the minimal fee to bowl, and every donation is important, but pledges are encouraged to help raise more funds for BBBS.
Kennedy takes this challenge to heart. She approaches just about every person she knows to ask for donations, and this year she and her supporters contributed $1,800 in pledges for Bowl For Kids’ Sake. To recognize her achievements, Kennedy was awarded a covered porcelain dish made by area potter Doug Dacey.
Teammate Judy Arledge came in second in the adult individuals category and received a Steeplechase pass donated by Tryon Riding & Hunt Club. Kennedy and her teammates from the Polk County Democratic Women have consistently come out on top each year they participate by raising the most pledges of any team.
In the youth category, Jack Tinkler has been honored for his accomplishments every year he has been involved with Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
Since all of the costs of the Bowling for Kids’ Sake event are covered by sponsors, 100 percent of the money raised by bowlers goes directly towards the BBBS mentoring programs for youth.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake is the most significant fundraising event for BBBS, held annually for the Polk branch for the past eight years. This year it was hosted for the first time at Autumn Lanes in Forest City. Twenty-one teams of up to five bowlers participated in two hours of bowling. Event sponsors were recognized, door prizes donated by local artists and businesses were given out in a drawing, refreshments were consumed and the bowlers who raised the most funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters were announced and specially awarded.
According to BBBS officials, most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are from single-parent and low-income families, from households with a parent incarcerated or other unusual home situations. BBBS provides children facing adversity with strong, professionally supported one-to-one meaningful relationships designed to change their lives for the better, forever.
BBBS said funds raised through Bowl For Kids’ Sake ensure that more Bigs and Littles can be paired up, more friendships can begin and improved outlooks can be started.
“The outpouring of support in our caring community through Bowl For Kids’ Sake is so appreciated,” Karen Dacey of BBBS said. “Big Brothers Big Sisters is grateful to be surrounded by so many who recognize the needs of youth and do all they can do to make our community stronger.”
For more information about BBBS, call 828-859-9230.
–  article submitted
by Karen Dacey