By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW — Bowlers, regardless of their skill level, will be hitting the lanes Saturday for the annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake.
The event, which is set to take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Highlander Bowl on Park Avenue, is the primary fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Kentucky, a mentoring program for area youth ranging in age from 6 to 12.
“Over 50 percent of the revenue for Big Brothers Big Sisters comes through Bowl for Kids’ Sake,” said John Botts, Barren and Allen County match coordinator.
The fundraising goal this year is $20,000. As of Wednesday 75 teams, or 375 bowlers, will be participating, which is up by 50 bowlers from 2009.
“With our lane sponsors that have already committed, we’ve already reached $3,000,” he said. “Our lane sponsors are $150 each [and] we’ve got 20 lane sponsors. We need to try to hit that $17,000 mark for all the bowlers on Saturday with what they bring in, which I think is very obtainable.”
In 2009, the event generated around $18,000, but the fundraising goal was a bit higher — $23,000. The organization has the same number of sponsors it had in 2009, but it has 50 extra bowlers this year, which Botts hopes will get the program over the $20,000 threshold.
Children are referred to the program for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is because they are struggling in school and need a little extra attention to help build self-confidence. Some children live in a single-parent home and need either a positive male role model or a positive female role model depending on whether they live with their mother or father.
There are also children whose parents are incarcerated, and those who are living with their grandparents who are referred to the program, Botts said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters offers two types of mentoring programs — community- and school-based. The program has 27 school-based matches and 13 community-based matches.
With school-based matches, volunteers come to the childrens’ schools and spend at least one hour with the children.
“We ask for a one-year commitment from the volunteer, both in our school-based [match], which is one year at approximately one hour a week when school is in session,” he said, adding that with the community-based match volunteers are asked to spend at least two hours with the children over a period of a year. “In the community-based match, the difference there is they go to the child’s home, pick them up and they do things in the community together.”
The activities can range from going to the movies, going to an area park or playing board games, he said.
Botts spoke with the mother of a little boy who recently got involved with the program’s community-based program. She shared with him the difference she has noticed in her son since he began spending time with his “big brother.”
There are many children who are on a waiting list for a “big brother or big sister.”
“That’s one of the sad things about our program. We’ve got kids that are on waiting lists. You hate to have to do that, but we’ve got more children than we’ve got volunteers,” Botts said.
There are 25 children on the school-based waiting list and five on the community-based waiting list.
“He looks forward seeing the big brother come in, because they are divorced and his dad lives out of state. They’ve been to the YMCA together. They’ve been to Beaver Trail together. She’s just seen a level of excitement in her son that she hasn’t seen in a long time, so she’s thrilled as a single mom.”
The children are often referred to as “littles” and the teenage, college-age or adult volunteers are referred to as the “bigs.”
Often times the “littles” don’t need to be engaged in some type of activity and are just as happy to sit and talk with someone.
“They just love to having somebody who will listen to them,” Botts said.
Laura Cotton, Youth Service Center coordinator for Glasgow Middle School, said she can tell a difference in students who are involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
“They are a lot more active. They are a lot more academically inclined, especially when they see those kids coming in at our school-based version. We’ve got some really good boys this year that come in here and play games,” she said. “There’s an improvement in their relationship with their peers — just overall happiness as far as their interaction with their teachers.”
Cotton serves on the local Big Brothers Big Sisters of Advisory Board with Kathy Byrd, who used to a “big sister.”
The children aren’t the only ones who benefit from the program.
“It was a blessing to me to know I was helping somebody,” she said.
A majority of the morning bowling time slots are already taken; however, there are a few afternoon time slots available. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the program by taking part in the Bowl for Kids’ Sake event can contact Botts at 651-7601.
