Brent Wake $250 out of his $3,500 goal!

Dane Boykins $250 out of his $600 goal!

Derick White $50 out of his $1,000 goal!

Tim Sherrill $25 out of his $100 goal!

When I was 12 – years – old I was surrounded by drug abuse – and all of the men in my life were unreliable at best.

My grandmother knew I needed a positive role model and called Big Brothers Big Sisters. I was hesitant at first. It wasn’t “cool” to have a Big Brother, and I didn’t want another person who was going to walk out on me.

But before long, I knew my Big Brother Evan was the surest thing in my life. No matter what I did, he wasn’t going anywhere. Twelve years later, he’s still here. He’s shown me places and experiences I couldn’t possibly have known without him. Most importantly, he allowed me to see my own potential. 

Thank you,

Shawn
Former Little Brother

It’s been 30 years in the making and Big Brothers Big Sisters is excited to announce that we are ready for our biggest Bowl For Kids’ Sake event ever!

With a forecast of 1,000 bowling teams, Big Brothers Big Sisters is preparing for the five-week event across 13 counties in northeast Indiana and south central Michigan with much optimism and confidence. “Currently there are over 500 children waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister of their own,” shares Shelley Schwab, Director of Development. “Our goal is to raise $300,000 and recruit 300 mentors to match 300 children so that Big Brothers Big Sisters can continue to turn little moments into big magic.”

Bowl For Kids’ Sake is a FUNdraiser, with an emphasis on the “FUN” in 2010! For the upcoming Bowl For Kids’ Sake event, we are excited to share that awesome incentives have been added to the “FUN”. Everything from iPod Shuffles to iPhones are on the list of great prizes participants can earn through their pledges. But that’s not all! One lucky winner will receive the Grand Prize iPackage – their choice of either an iPod Classic w/ Bose SoundDock System or Apple TV System w/ 42” Sony or Samsung LCD HDTV!

For this event, we are looking for people to form a team of five friends, co-workers, or family members who want to help raise funds to support our programs. Each team member is encouraged to raise $100 or more in pledges and then invited to celebrate making a difference with bowling, food and prizes!

Big Brothers Big Sisters would like to thank Arby’s, BKD CPA & Advisors and Thunderbowl #1 for their title sponsorship of this year’s Bowl For Kids’ Sake.

As we look forward to the new year, Big Brothers Big Sisters thanks its Corporate Community Partners for underwriting programs and for supporting the children in our communities during 2009: Best Buy, Coca-Cola, Do it Best Corp., Indiana Physical Therapy, International Truck & Engine, Kohl’s, Lutheran Children’s Hospital, Steel Dynamics, Inc., and United Way. The organization looks forward to another great year in 2010!

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization that serves children in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley counties in Indiana and Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph counties in Michigan. For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters or to volunteer to become a “Big”, contact 1-888-456-1600 or 2439 Fairfield Ave., Fort Wayne, IN, 46807. You may also visit us on the web at www.bbbsnei.org .