Bowl for Kids 2019 – A Celebration for the Ages!
Yabba dabba doo! It was a mammoth good time for all at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas’ 2019 Bowl for Kids celebration. The event was held April 26 & 27 at Highland Lanes and raised over $146,000. It was a party for the Stone Ages as participants wore dinosaur-themed costumes, bowled a few games, and raised money to match more at-risk kids with caring adult mentors.
Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods were reflected as participants dressed up as pterodactyls, cavemen and cavewomen, a tyrannosaurus rex, and even a “Paleo Diet.” Over 80 teams, 31 volunteers, Bigs and Littles, and numerous BBBS staff members bowled and celebrated dino-style.
“I found my people,” joked BBBS CEO, Brent Fields, dressed as Dr. Alan Grant from the original Jurassic Park movie, as he posed for photos with other costumed “paleontologists”. “Bowl for Kids is such a fun gathering of folks from across the community who come together to make a difference in the life of a child. Thank you to all the wonderful people who make this event possible.”
Now in its 36th year, BBBS’ Bowl for Kids celebration gives participants an opportunity to enjoy a themed bowling party with food, drinks, souvenirs and prizes after raising money to help the agency serve more kids.
Bigs and Littles also got in on the bowling fun. “Bowl for Kids allowed me and my Little Sister to try a new activity, build her confidence, and learn the rules of a new venue (why you wear bowling shoes and how each person bowls twice),” said Big Sister Liz Wiedemer. “My Little Sister really enjoyed the free snow cone, and the green screen photo booth, but she wanted to bowl two whole games, so she clearly loved the bowling too!”
New to this year’s Bowl for Kids event was the Industry Bowl challenge, with teams representing businesses from the Engineering, Tech, Game Development and Media fields competing to see who could raise the most money for BBBS. This year’s winners were: Civil Engineering – Rogers O’Brien Construction, Tech – arm architecture, Media – KVUE TV, and Game Development – ArtCraft Entertainment.
Teams also enjoyed two photo booths, one for official team pictures and one for posing with a dinosaur-themed backdrop and dinosaur cutouts created by Rhonda Karcher-Logan of Pape-Dawson Engineers and her team of Creative Neanderthals.
Special recognition was given for the best individual costumes, best team costumes, and the most spirited teams with bowling pin “trophies” cleverly painted to resemble dinosaurs emerging from dinosaur eggs. In addition, the longest Bowl for Kids supporter received the “Old Fossil” award and door prizes were awarded throughout the event.
Thirty teams achieved VIB, or “Very Important Bowler,” status this year, an important goal for many fundraisers. Bowlers are recognized as VIBs for raising $1,250 or more, the amount needed to support a mentoring relationship between a Big and a Little for an entire year. As a reward for their exceptional fundraising efforts, and the difference their contributions make, VIBs enjoy special perks and prizes.
“Bowl for Kids 2019 was a DINO-mite Spring fundraiser that culminated in a weekend bowling celebration for teams of 6 people who raised $750 or more,” said Sara Grauerholz, BBBS Events Specialist. “Together, we were able to raise enough money to take 116 kids off our waitlist and place them in caring mentorship matches! The fundraising hasn’t stopped– We are so close to our goal of taking 120 kids off our waitlist, and you can help by donating here!”
Essential to the event’s success, Bowl for Kids’ 2019 business sponsors included financial consulting firm RSM US LLP – the event’s Kingpin Sponsor, arm, Capitol Metro, Bluepoint Games, and Harney Partners, as well as our generous host, Highland Lanes. Fielding their own bowling teams, these sponsors were joined by teams and sponsors from a variety of other Central Texas professional fields and industries, including architecture, printing, construction, gaming, technology and media companies, among others.
Though the dinosaurs have gone extinct once again, the impact of BBBS’ Bowl for Kids 2019 will remain for months and years to come. With teams’ online fundraising pages remaining active and accepting donations for another week or two, there’s still time to contribute to the important work of helping more children achieve success in life.
Many thanks to all of our friends, partners, participants, and staff who made this year’s Bowl for Kids a celebration for the ages!
See event photos here
See MyEvent moving photos here
See our BFK 2019 DinoTOUR thank you video here
