 By Nancy Coggins May 11, 2006
With more than 100 bowlers having collected pledges, fifty-two sponsors, including Campaign Sponsor Southeast Stevedoring, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Southeast Alaska (SEAK) is on track to bring even more caring adults into the lives of Ketchikan youth for 2006. Ketchikan will be able to fund 16 more matches of mentors with children in our community thanks to the efforts of the bowlers.  fill out raffle tickets at sign-in table Photo by Amy Lloyd
She was right; the bowler turnout was great! There were some very imaginative bowling-team names: Bee Bop Boogie Bowlers, Burning Orange, Chamber Chargers, Different Strikes, Hot Shots, Little Rascals, Spunky Monkeys, Super Brothers, Team Union, The Admirals, The Boys, The Chicklettes, the Skinner Gang, and Havin' Fun! Then, the more traditional: Alaska Pacific Bank, Alaskan & Proud, First Bank, First Bank - Totem Branch, Ketchikan General Hospital, ReMax, RIPC, Safeway, and Wells Fargo. After signing in with Sharli Hayter and her efficient helper, Grandma Joan, we picked up our bowling shoes from Kirsten Filyaw (Kayhi's Student of the Week) and found our assigned lanes. The Ketchikan Entertainment Center loaned us bowling shoes and gave Big Brothers Big Sisters the use of the lanes for the event. One bowler commented: "The Ketchikan Entertainment Center staff really came through for us in a big way." From looking around the bowling alley, the Ketchikan Entertainment Center was not the only supporter. There were signs and banners showing the tremendous business and community support in Ketchikan. As could be seen on the TV ads prior to the event, on the T-shirts of all the bowlers, and on the banners at the bowling alley, Southeast Stevedoring played a huge part in making this event possible.  Photo by Amy Lloyd All sponsors received benefits and thank yous for making Ketchikan's Bowl for Kids' Sake event possible, based on their level of giving. The time came to start eating the scrumptious pizza laid out on the tables behind the lanes. Godfather's Pizza had given BBBS a 10% discount. Both Northern Sales and Godfather's Pizza donated the soda. Every team captain's goodie bag contained enough plastic cups donated by State Farm for each team member's soda. Also, a Sharpie®, donated by Jud's Office Supply, was in the bags to mark each person's cup. Children helped themselves to the sweets donated by Alaskan & Proud and Lauralee Samalot from the "dessert" table. Lauralee's festive homemade cookies had been decorated with deliciously flavored frosting by volunteers two days before the event. On went the alley lights, and the music revved up to signal the start of the bowling games. Amy Lloyd, BFKS photographer for the day, captured our smiles. "Captain" Casey Salmon, from KGTW Gateway 106.7 FM, emceed the proceedings. He gave out prizes to those raising at least $150 worth of pledges, trivia prizes, and some prizes just for fun. Casey would try to find a reason to give a prize to everyone; even for Dizzy-Izzy's - that's when you spin your whole body around four times while tightly holding your ball; then, in your reeling state, hold the ball with both hands and do your best to roll it straight down the lane. He called this maneuver the "Dizzy-Izzy Granny spin," and it was fun!  Photo by Sharli Hayter Campaign Sponsor Southeast Stevedoring Corporation also enjoyed headline mentions in all campaign promotional material, T-shirts for its employees, and a handsome plaque to serve as a permanent recognition of support. According to the amount of their donations, our other sponsors received some of the following benefits and thank yous: Mention in TV and newspaper ads; plaques; their corporate logos on the event banner publicly displayed prior to and during the bowling event, on brochures/pledge sheets and on our campaign website; emcee acknowledgements during the bowling event; mention in the local newspaper thank-you ad; acknowledgement in the big times upcoming newsletter, certificate suitable for framing. "Captain" Casey's one-on-one interaction with children gave each a moment in the spotlight.
The wide-eyed children opened their goodie-bags. Inside, they saw coupons for soda from Burger Queen and ice cream from McDonald's, stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes, a Tootsie Roll bank, plus other treasures from friends such as Stenfjord's Hallmark. Thanks to Wells Fargo for supplying all those plastic bags for goodies. Over 50 prizes were given out, with 20 more to be delivered. Casey also announced all of our local businesses that supported this event and support local youth. In the middle of this celebration, "Captain" Casey announced the first perfect game ever for BBBS of SEAK at a Bowl for Kids' Sake event. Bowler Blake Chupka from the Super Brothers team was the high scorer, winning the Baranof Skiff Excursion tour for his 300 score! Other adult prizes offered rewards for high fundraising efforts in Ketchikan: A Promech Air tour for the first place fundraiser, and a WestCoast Cape Fox Lodge $75 dinner certificate for the runner up. For children in Ketchikan, a Southeast Sea Kayaks tour will be given away to the youth who raised the most money for BBBS of SEAK in Ketchikan, and an Alaska Canopy Adventure's Zip-line tour for second place. An Alaska Travel Adventure tour for the highest youth bowler, and a Movie Gallery gift certificate for the second highest. For Ketchikan teams, a Murray Pacific gift of $20 for each member of the high fundraising team, and Great Alaskan Lumberjack show tickets for each member on the second-place team. A KetchiCandies 2-pound box of chocolates went to the Ketchikan Entertainment Center staff that helped make our Ketchikan Bowl for Kids' Sake a success. To be awarded on June 1, 2006, after all the pledges are received by the deadline of May 31, 2006, are four regional prizes for high-fundraisers: a Royal Caribbean International 7-day cruise for two; two Alaska Airlines roundtrip tickets anywhere Alaska flies; two Alaska Railroad Corporation tickets from Anchorage to Fairbanks; and exquisite Alaskan jewelry from Fire & Ice. Special thanks to the youth volunteers who helped the BFKS event run smoothly. High-school student Felicia Shaffer helped sell 50/50 raffle tickets during the first bowling session. During the second bowling session, Jacquie Taylor helped support the bowlers, and helped cleanup afterward. Kaylea Stoakes helped with extremely useful team-captain instruction signs and was the emcee assistant. Credit also goes to Lori Grassgreen, BBBS of SEAK Director of Development, the "accountant-for-the-day." And we extend a great big thanks to Southeast Stevedoring Corporation and our other 51 sponsors for making possible our 2006 Bowl for Kids' Sake annual fundraiser and awareness campaign. As monetary "strikes" and "spares" roll in, we await the final tally of all six BBBS of SEAK groups, which at the date of this writing have raised over $110,000 -- about 10% of the 2006 BBBS of SEAK operating budget. The six BFKS events: Haines, April 1; Sitka, April 8; Ketchikan, April 9; Juneau, April 15; Hoonah, April 29; and Skagway, May 6, 2006. These wonderful contributions raised in our communities stay in our communities. The last day for all outstanding pledges to be counted in the grand total is May 31, 2006. Send them in, postmarked by this date, or drop them off at any Wells Fargo bank. Grow grand total! A bigger grand total will give even more kids a chance to reach their potential. Big Brothers Big Sisters is the leader in one-to-one youth service, with over 100 years of proven success in creating positive friendships that benefit children, volunteers, families, neighborhoods, and communities!
On the web:
She is also a Big Brothers Big Sisters Volunteer. Publish A Letter on SitNews Read Letters/Opinions
|
|||