Bowl For Kids’ Sake in Henderson scores BIG results

March 8, 2012 in Bigs & Littles, Bowl for Kids' Sake, Fundraiser with 0 Comments

Take our SURVEY

Last Saturday, March 3, 2012 ECHO Lanes in Henderson, KY was buzzing with bowlers from across the tri-state. It was a BIG day for “Littles”, “Bigs”, as well as children and families living right here in our community. There were clowns bowling, the “Village People” strutting, more than fifteen teams from Henderson County Senior High School. Even a team who called themselves the “Presidential Rollers” included Bill & Hillary Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and the secret service. The “Bowling Stones” were seen on the lanes complete with big red lips, wigs, sunglasses and guitars. It was a BIG day for a BIG party.

The day-long celebration began at 9am and rolled through 7pm with more than 650 bowlers, hosted by 25-plus volunteers per hour. DJ’s announced a bounty of door prizes during each flight which included overnight stays at a local bed & breakfast and sunset suite at our local winery, air tours over Henderson County, cake-ball bouquets, luxury Colonel fan gift baskets, fruit baskets and much more. Two of our title sponsors; Subway “Eat Fresh” and the United Way of Henderson County bowled with multiple teams during the day. At the center of ECHO Lanes were our newest Big and Little matches bowling together; brothers Frank & Mohammed, Brian & Malik and sisters Becky & Katie and more than 20 other pairs of newly formed brothers and sisters who spent the day on lanes 11, 12 & 13 with giant smiles, exuberant high-fives and contagious laughter! It was a BIG party for Henderson’s newest brothers sisters.

Why all the hoopla? We were raising much-needed funds and awareness for Henderson’s new Big Brothers Big Sisters program which will enable the new satellite office to match some of the more than 50 children facing adversity who are on a waiting list. An organization with proven, positive outcomes which include reducing risky behavior, improved schoolwork and positively impacting a child’s self-worth all through partnered relationships with caring, compassionate, loving adults.

Big Brothers Big Sisters thanks you our community for your financial support, prayers and commitment to the children we serve. Thanks to you our donors, volunteers, friends and family BIG new relationships have begun that will help children and families right here in Henderson for years to come.

Did you attend last Saturday’s Bowl For Kids’ Sake? Want to provide us with some important input? Help by taking our online survey at the link listed below

http://www.bbbshenderson.org/survey

THANK YOU for GREAT Gifts!

February 29, 2012 in Bowl for Kids' Sake with 1 Comment

Did you ever notice that our community is AWESOME when it comes to partnering and providing for the cause?

Just look at what the following individuals and businesses have provided as gifts and/or door prizes for this Saturday’s March 3rd, Bowl For Kids’ Sake at ECHO Lanes in Henderson, KY.

Here are just a few of the gifts included in the upcoming PARTY!

A T & T Mobility-Blue tooth headphones
BJ’s Home Accents-Book Lamp w/fluted shade
Breck’s Bicycle Shop-Helmet & long sleeve t-shirt
Faught & Jones Inc.-Barbara Jones-2 lovely gift baskets
The Fresh Market-Gourmet Foods Gift Basket
Gem Chemical Company-5 Half-Oval Decorative Door Mats
The Jagelewski Sisters-Thousands of delicious cake ball pops
Jennifer’s Kitchen-Gourmet Gift Basket
L&N Bed ‘n Breakfast-Overnite Stay at Henderson’s Premier B&B
Maxine’s Cafe & Bakery-Gift Cards
Mary Kay Cosmetics-Gift Card
Pampered Chef-Terry Davis-Fabulous Chef Gifts
PC Quest-7 personal tablet computers
Ruby Moon Vineyard & Winery-Overnite Stay at New Luxury Sunset Suite
Starbucks-Gourmet Coffee Giftbasket
Stein Mart-Gift Basket
Sugar Bakers-Vera Bradley Gifts
Toys to Treasure-Children’s toy
Trees ‘n Trend-Spring Wreath

Watch for more NEW LISTINGS coming soon!

THANK YOU!

Starting Something BIG

February 23, 2012 in Bowl for Kids' Sake with 0 Comments

Lonna & Dakota

The new satellite office in Henderson has opened, is up and running, making new matches and serving children and families in Henderson County. Since September 2011, twenty-six new match introductions have been made in the community and school based programs, with 20 community, 6 school and 5 school-plus matches. Inherited were 5 matches some of which have been meeting for more than 7 years.

The school based program has been matching children attending South Heights Elementary, with the support of principal Rob Carroll and social worker Yvonne Hall who sees a huge benefit of having Big Brothers Big Sisters in their school. We look forward to continuing to grow our school-based efforts as we presently have more than 20 children on our school-based waiting list.

In the community-based program, Henderson has more than 35 children awaiting matches with a caring, compassionate adult mentor. The good news is there are more than 45 volunteers who have completed applications and are in varying stages of enrollment. We look forward to also growing the community-based matches once the focus on Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2012 is completed.

Since January our efforts have concentrated on our inaugural signature fundraiser Bowl For Kids’ Sake. “This is our first year and we wanted to set a precedent for future years events”, says Greg Gibson the new Program Director. “The community has exceeded our expectations and we are grateful to call Henderson our home”. This year’s event has registered more than 120 teams, 600 bowlers at our day-long event begins at 9am and runs through 6pm. We have exceeded our sponsorship goal by 22% and sponsors continue to contact us. Saturday, March 3^rd is going to be a BIG day for celebration in Henderson with clowns, themed costumes, a DJ, magicians, mascots, great door prizes and hundreds of bowlers all throughout the day.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has started something BIG in Henderson and we’ve only just begun. The incredible, positive match stories being heard from both volunteers and clients are reinforcing that our programs provide life-changing relationships for children facing adversity. We’re so proud to be a community resource for schools, parents and families in Henderson County and we look forward to continuing our advocacy for children through our mentoring programs.

SUPER Heroes Right Here….in Henderson KY

February 11, 2012 in Bigs & Littles, Volunteer with 0 Comments

Frank, Brian, Susan, Mike, Patricia, Becky and Rob are just seven of Henderson’s BIG new Super Heroes! To date there are more than thirty others who have enrolled in our program to mentor local children. Volunteers, mentors, big brothers and sisters each of them carry the same super hero name to the child they mentor, that of Big Brother or Big Sister.

Our community is blessed with caring, compassionate people who not only donate their time each week to spend with a child but who have a BIG heart for helping those less fortunate. It sure makes our jobs at the new Big Brothers Big Sisters of Henderson much easier when such outstanding community examples step up to mentor a child. They range in age from 18 to almost 80. They come in different shapes, sizes and colors and from various professional backgrounds. They all have at least one thing in common-they’re a Big Brother or Big Sister.

Super hero’s come in many different costumes. Some of my favorites are right here in Henderson working with our youth everyday-starting something BIG and making a huge difference in the lives of our children.

VIDEO: Our Need for Male African American Bigs

February 8, 2012 in Media, News, Volunteer with 0 Comments

Thank you WFIE 14 News for doing this news story on our need for more African-American males.

Do you know of someone who might want to be a BIG? Please contact us!

Read the entire news story here.

Our 2012 PSA promoting Bowl For Kids’ Sake

January 11, 2012 in Bowl for Kids' Sake, Fundraiser with 0 Comments

Please see our Bowl for Kids Sake 2012 Page for more information and registration.

Who’s BIG in your life?

December 30, 2011 in Bigs & Littles, News, Volunteer with 0 Comments

We’ve all experienced them, well most of us have. Those individuals who stopped to talk to you but listen even more. That grandfather who taught you how to make lead fishing sinkers and feed an earthworm farm. The neighbor who would always stop what she was doing, sit down and take time to spend together with you. A teacher who went above and beyond his or her teaching role and crossed over to that of friend and mentor. Many of us have experienced these big people in our lives those who have extended a helping hand, listening ear or comforting words of encouragement. They have helped us learn/grow and in doing so have enabled and taught us how to become productive, healthy, contributing members of society.

That’s the role of a mentor like those who volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Henderson County. Big hearted-people like Becky Durham who volunteers with Katie to nurture, teach and provide compassion through fun craft projects and walks in the park together. Big and tall people like Brian Owen whose even bigger heart for others and giving-spirit donated his kidney to friend in need, all the while being a husband, father of three and now Big brother to Malik who looks up to Brian in many ways. And Big people like Frank Tulipana who selected Mohammed as his little brother because the two had already bonded through a church van ministry and he wanted to spend even more time together through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Many of those we serve have never experienced that big friend who truly cares and makes the effort to spend quality one-on-one time with together. A child’s relationship with a caring adult-someone they look up to, that they can talk with, laugh and play with, learn, grow and experience love from can truly help to define what that child will become and his/her outlook on themselves, others and life in general. A few hours a week together can truly impact the lives of big volunteers and little brothers or sisters.

So who was BIG in YOUR life and whose BIG will you be? To explore how you can make a Big difference in the life of a child contact me, Greg Gibson ggibson@bbbshenderson.org or explore our website Big Brothers Big Sisters of Henderson to find out more. Big things can happen if you just start something with a child.

Top Ten Reasons YOU should register Early for Bowl for Kids’ Sake

December 25, 2011 in Bowl for Kids' Sake, Fundraiser, News with 0 Comments

10. There’s limited space available (168 teams).

9. March 3, 2012 will be here in 9 1/2 weeks.

8. Because it doesn’t matter how good of a bowler you are.

7. You could win some fabulous prizes.

6. You can pick your time slot to bowl before it fills up.

5. Money raised here in Henderson stays here.

4. It only takes an hour and you get to bowl with 4 of your favorite friends.

3. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Henderson is the beneficiary.

2. You can guarantee your place in the event.

1. Have fun bowling and help children here in Henderson at the same time.

It takes many like Mollie to make Magical Matches

December 19, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Who ever said volunteers can’t make a world of difference? Not true. Take for example the efforts of Mollie Hobbs who has volunteered at BBBSHC the last couple of months. She truly makes a difference everyday she shows up.

Whether its organizing, checking and completing the many required documents in each volunteer and client file, interviewing parents and children, meeting with school administrators or addressing Christmas cards she’s always there each and every day.

We couldn’t have made our sixteenth new match today without her. She always a pleasure to work with, always has a giant smile and even though she says she’s not, she’s extremely organized.

Mollie’s efforts and investment in BBBSHC truly makes a huge difference each and every day. A difference that helps change children’s lives for the better forever.

Thank you Mollie for your commitment to family and children in our community and thank you Mollie for volunteering your time to make a difference.