Big Brothers & Sisters to bowl for kids

Three hundred spots are filled and 100 are still open for bowlers to participate in the 24th Annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser tomorrow, which benefits Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County.

The event will be held at AMF Twin Star Lanes, 2245 state Route 59, and two sessions will be available for bowlers. The first session is from 1:30 to 3 p.m., and the second is from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

Teams of five people can sign up to participate in the event, and a minimum of $35 per person or $175 per team must be raised. In return, bowlers receive 90 minutes of bowling, shoes, pizza, pop, a Bowl for Kids’ Sake T-shirt and opportunities to win door prizes.

The goal of this event is to raise $13,000 for the program’s one-to-one youth mentoring program, said Ron Kilchenman, associate director for Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County. They have made $11,000 to $18,000 in past years.

“Money raised from this event will be used to recruit additional volunteers and match them to some of the kids on the waiting list,” he said. “We still have between 60 and 80 children on the waiting list.”

There is room for a total of 400 bowlers to participate in the event.

“The goal, of course, is to sell out,” Kilchenman said.

The winner will receive a traveling trophy along with bragging rights, he said.

“Mostly you receive respect and pride knowing you helped out a worthy organization, ” he said.

The final deadline to sign up for the event is 4 p.m. today. Those interested in signing up a team can call Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County at (330) 296-6655.

– Meghan Gauriloff