left to right: Darren Smith, Angela Sotiropoulos, Dawn McGeachy, Sarah Colby, Everett Colby.
Lanark County: Local bowling alleys were jam packed full as over 750 bowlers came out to support Big Brothers Big Sisters on Saturday. $80,000.00 was raised to fund mentoring programs for this local children’s charity. This exceeded their goal!
Bowl for Kids is a Canadian tradition from Coast to Coast. Big Brothers Big Sisters is not funded by the government, and this fun filled event raises almost 30% of the agency’s annual budget.
The community came together once again to help fund programs for local children. Participants put together teams.
made up of friends, families or co-workers and brought in pledges. Local sponsors covered event costs so that all funds raised by the public could go right to the programs. Sponsors included; Tim Hortons as title sponsor, as well as Prodecal, Crain & Schooley, Lake 88, Cogeco, Hinton Dodge Chrysler, EMC, Jack FM, TD Canada Trust, Guy Saumure and Sons, and Impression Printing. Many sponsors also raised pledges. As an example, Tim Horton’s teams throughout the County raised well over $4500 on top of their sponsorship and had more than 70 employees participating.
“Lanark County believes in what we do, and they tell us that through Bowl for Kids every year – for that we are truly grateful.” says Jennifer Miller, the agency’s Executive Director, “We are not funded by the government so events like Tim Hortons Bowl for Kids Sake helps ensure we can continue serving local kids.”
Some groups and businesses who couldn’t bowl had in house fundraisers, including St. Johns High School in Perth who are having competitions between classes, and various restaurants such as Two Guys for Lunch and The Masonry having special dinners. Colby McGeachy, an Accounting firm in Almonte, raised almost $10,000 by using the agency’s on line fundraising platform. Hundreds of people participated, some dressing in costume like SFDCI teachers who arrived looking like masked bandits, Bennets from Carleton Place in masks, and the Ravens Candy Shoppe in Smiths Falls that dressed like Zombies.
The Nintendo Wii event held in Perth was a big hit with young and old alike. This was the second year for trying this format and it went over well. Teams like the LGBT, both Perth and Lanark Civitan clubs, the Lanark Youth Centre and others had a fun time at the Perth Civitan hall. There were many special moments, including one with Susan Heggtveit of Perth who had her highest pledge amount in 3 years, collecting door to door, and raising $644.55.
Funds raised go to help children reach their full potential through consistent, dependable and non-conditional adult friendship. Over the years hundreds of children in Lanark County have benefited from these relationships and the adults involved have overwhelmingly expressed their enthusiasm for the friendship they have enjoyed.
Currently just under 500 children are being served in Perth, Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, Almonte and Lanark.
Children in the programs are matched with a caring adult volunteer, and they spend 1 to 5 hours per week together. This is a program that focuses on friendship, and helps children who need a mentor to look up to. Often the children in the programs come from single parent homes, and are need of a role model and someone to talk to. Adult volunteers are fully screened and come from all walks of life, some are young adults, some are seniors – it’s the sort of volunteer program that can accommodate almost anyone with a few hours to spare.
The agency is actively seeking new volunteers for their mentoring programs, and would welcome your calls or questions about volunteer options. For more information about the agency, visit www.bigbrothersbigsisterslanark.ca or call 613-283-0570.
