All the slots were filled Saturday for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser at The Bowling Alley in Warsaw.
There were 16 teams per each of the two two-hour sessions with five members on each team, according to Tammy Smith, BBBS of Kosciusko County development director. The theme for this year’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake is “Battle of the Bands.”
Bailey Roe, partnership development for BBBS, said, “Bowl for Kids’ Sake is our longest-running annual fundraiser. It is a ‘friendraiser,’ like we call it. We challenge individuals to form a team of five, come out and hang out and party with us. They have an individual goal to raise $100, so it’s a $500 goal for each team. It doesn’t matter how little or how big you raise your money, we have incentives. You come out, you still enjoy the night of bowling.”
Smith said along with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office being a Bronze Pin sponsor, a number of teams came from local fire departments, including Silver Lake, Pierceton, Milford and Leesburg.

    Shari Benyousky was one of 150 participants in Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser event at The Bowling Alley, Warsaw, on Saturday. The theme for this year’s fundraiser is “Battle of the Bands.” Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

For the theme this year, Roe said, “We are bringing out all the rock stars and just having fun and celebrating our kids. Bowl for Kids’ Sake is a great way to expand our footprint and just spread the word of Big Brothers Big Sisters because anyone can pick up a bowling ball, right? Put on a pair of shoes and come out and bowl. It doesn’t need to be someone that is interested in necessarily joining our program, just someone that wants to get involved and know someone that might be involved already.”
Not all the participants in Saturday’s fundraising event were Bigs or Littles.
“Participants can be Bigs, they can be Littles, they can be former Bigs, former Littles. A lot of sponsorships, local companies support us that will form teams and then internally raise funds for us, and still come out and enjoy the time. But anyone, anyone that wants to come out and bowl with us and fundraise and support us in Bowl for Kids’ Sake is welcome to,” Roe said.
For 2024, the “Battle of the Bands,” BBBS’ first fundraiser of the year, is touring six counties with a total of 15 sessions. “We will be in just about anywhere and everywhere for the next couple months,” she said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana serves 12 counties.
“Our goal this year is $250,000,” Roe said. By raising that amount, BBBS will be able to make 250 new matches because of the time and support that goes into making a match.
The need for matches is great.
“We are always in need of Bigs to volunteer, significantly male volunteers. I think we find it easier for females to step up when the challenge is placed and the need is there. Boys are a little slower to the draw, so we do have over 500 kids on the waiting list. The majority are boys,” Roe said.
There’s a misconception that if a person becomes a Big they’re dedicating their life to the child.
“But really, all we’re asking is for you to come hang out with a kid for twice a month for two hours. It’s a yearlong commitment at least. We would ideally like you to be with them every year, but it’s more detrimental to a child if you come into their life and leave, so we ask for the yearlong commitment,” Roe explained.
The Littles range from age 7 to 21 when a match officially closes out.
If a person is interested in donating to BBBS or in becoming a Big, Roe said they can reach out to Smith. BBBS also has social media like Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) that a person can reach out to BBBS through. The website is www.bbbsnei.org. The telephone numbers are 888-456-1600 (toll free), 260-456-1600 or 574-306-2178 (Warsaw).
“I think more times than not, what I hear our volunteers say is that they get more out of being matched with a Little than the Littles are getting out of our program,” Roe said. “It doesn’t matter what phase of life you are in, we can find you a Little that has the same interest that wants to just go hang out and do the things that you like to do. I think that’s a very special thing about Big Brothers Big Sisters is when we match a Big or a mentor with a mentee or Little, we find similar interests where there would be a natural connection between the two.”