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No matter if you bowl a strike every frame or you make best friends with the gutter, the annual Bowl For Kids’ Sake fundraiser is the perfect place to throw a few balls down the lane for a good cause.

Ever bowled on your stomach? How about from the wheelbarrow position, with a little help from a teammate? “One of the things they do every year is Crazy Bowling,” says Vicky Churchill, a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington. “They’ll announce that whoever’s up next needs to do whatever they tell you. Over the years it’s gotten pretty interesting.”

Big Brother Big Sisters
Held at Westside Lanes, the Bowl for Kids’ Sake event draws teams of skilled and novice bowlers, all joining the fun to raise money for local kids. Photo courtesy: Big Brother Big Sisters

Since it started in 1999, the event has raised money for Big Brothers Big Sisters to continue providing professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring for children facing adversity. Individuals and organizations form teams, with each team committing to raise between $400 and $600 or $75 per bowler. This year’s event will be held in three sessions on April 22 at Westside Lanes.

People form teams made up of their business colleagues, friends, or families. “It’s different for every group,” says Churchill, Vice President and Financial Sales Manager at First Citizens Bank. “If you have a business with multiple locations or lots of employees, that always helps. Some people do it because they’re very philanthropic. You tell them about it and they immediately want to participate.”

Amee Kiefer has participated in several events with a combination of friends and relatives. “My team in the past has been my sister and brother-in-law and our kids,” she says. “Some of our best friends were our team last year and we will be a team again this year.  Everybody likes to support BBBS so the response is always, ‘We would love to be a team.’”

Big Brothers Big Sisters
Bowling skills are not required to participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake event.

Although it’s by no means mandatory, some teams arrive armed with unusual bowling team names totally unrelated to their businesses and sporting matching shirts, while others decorate the shirts they’re given with puffy paint and letters. “We’ve had people dye their hair for the night,” says Churchill. “In the last couple of years we’ve had more groups get creative and have a lot of fun with it.”

Fundraising is another area where groups can use their imaginations. Some, like Kiefer, simply donate the money themselves along with members of their team or through their business. Others hold events as an organization. “We’ve done chili cook offs at the bank,” says Churchill. “People bring in pots, everyone votes, and then customers pay to taste them all. For Mother’s Day once, we made coffee cup planters. On another occasion, [local accessories shop] Bon Lemon let us host a night where a portion of the proceeds went to our bowling team.”

The event has ebbed and flowed since its inception, but participation has risen again in the past several years says Churchill, who attended the first affair back in 1999. “It was huge back then,” she recalls. “Participation dipped for a few years but now it’s back up again. We’ve been getting more feedback from the community as to what they thought would make the event more fun and help get them engaged. Overall, we’re seeing a younger audience now.”

big brothers big sisters
Grab your friends and form a team for the April 22 event. Photo courtesy: Big Brothers Big Sisters

Anyone interested in starting a team should talk to someone who has participated before, she maintains, or call BBBS to ask questions. “Once people see how it works, they’re much more likely to want to be involved.” Bowling aside, the event is an opportunity for attendees to learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters and meet some of the ‘Bigs’ and ‘Littles’ as they are known.

“The event offers something for everyone,” says Pearl Price, Director of Marketing and Outreach for BBBS. “Whether you’re a dedicated league bowler, or you need a little assistance from the bumpers, participants are guaranteed to have a blast while having a direct positive impact on the lives of hundreds of local children and families.”

According to Kiefer, the event is always memorable. “My favorite part is having the D.J. and raising money for an organization that we love with our friends and family.”

Want to learn more? Visit swwabigs.org/bowlforkidssake or call (360) 943-0409.

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