Bowl for Kids’ Sake held its final fundraising event on Feb. 22 at Kemway Lanes with assistance from the Humboldt, Naicam, and Wadena army cadet corps. They managed to raise $1,172, bringing the total amount of this year’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake to over $36,000.
“It’s been awesome; it’s a great group of kids,” said Stacey Poss, marketing and recruitment coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Humboldt and Area. “They come from everywhere and we’re just really grateful that they come out today because it’s a cold day.”
The cadets are ages 12-18 and went out before the event to collect pledges and donations, after which they were able to get two free games of bowling. Since the three community corps often cooperate in activities, this fundraiser became a small competition between them to see who could raise the most money.
“This is the first (Bowl for Kids’ Sake) we’ve done with BBBS,” said Dennis Mollenbeck, the officer in charge of the Humboldt corps. “The kids love to bowl together. We usually invite the Naicam and Wadena corps, because we’re smaller corps so the more kids you can get together, the more they benefit from the training we give them.”
Throughout the year, cadets get to experience and learn a number of different skills and techniques, usually relating to survival. Around this time they would have had to participate in a community project, so this fundraising event was perfect timing for them. According to Mollenbeck, the cadets provide a similar type of mentorship as BBBS.
“We are just like a mentoring group like BBBS … the program is important to keep the kids active and helping around the community,” said Mollenbeck. “It’s a chance to be a part of a group that enjoy themselves when they’re together and you get to meet kids from all different demographics of life.”
Both programs may be similar, but while BBBS gives kids that one-on-one mentoring opportunity, cadets offer group mentoring.
“The message I gave them is just what mentorship is about and I just let them know that they mentor each other because sometimes people get confused with mentorship,” said Poss. “Mentorship is just about encouraging and uplifting people so we can be mentors to each other.”
According to Poss, BBBS focuses on one-on-one mentorship because that’s where people share their deepest thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, activities like cadets and team sports lend to the “development of a child because they learn to do their best and they learn to work as a team.” In situations like those, people like coaches and commanding officers often act as the mentors.
“Mentorship is all around us, so I think the thing we have to be aware of is just being grateful for the people we do have in our lives,” said Poss. “Through cadets, they learn respect, not just for others, but for themselves and I think that’s a huge part of what BBBS helps children with too, is respecting themselves.”
Out of the event, Blaze Joa won Globetrotter tickets for raising the most money, bringing BBBS’ record year amount even higher.
