Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County rolled out the red carpet to celebrate our favorite movies and characters at Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2024 – On the BIG Screen. 267 bowlers visited Parkway Lanes in Fond du Lac between March 1 and 2 to take part in our largest annual fundraiser. This year’s event had no shortage of entertainment, food, drinks, costume contests, prizes, and fun. Through everyone’s fundraising efforts, we raised just shy of $104,000 to support local children with powerful mentoring relationships!
The event kicked off on Friday night while DJ Marty Schibbelhut got the party started with everyone’s favorite hits. During Saturday’s match shift, 32 Bigs and Littles hit the lanes for bowling, face painting, root beer floats from A&W, and a color pin contest with Verve.
Whether they represented a blockbuster hit or showed some love to a beloved classic, bowlers came dressed for the spotlight. The top costume from each bowling shift got to take home their very own Oscar bowling pin trophy and a cash prize. Costume contest winners included ensembles from movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Toy Story, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Barbie, and the iconic Energizer Bunny.
The costume contest wasn’t the only opportunity for bowlers to win big. Top fundraisers won gift certificates to some of our favorite local spots; bowlers from every shift had the opportunity to participate in 50/50 raffles; and trivia gurus could take home a variety of goodies by answering questions about some of our favorite movies.
Grande Cheese Company wasted no time filling the lanes with 85 bowlers on Saturday morning—our largest fundraisers of the weekend. Not only did Grande employees raise $17,277, but the company made an additional donation of $18,723 to gift BBBS with a total of $36,000 in support of local youth! Michels Corporation was our second largest fundraiser, bringing 27 bowlers to the event and raising $14,837!
Throughout the weekend, Parkway Lanes offered three film-inspired beverages for bowlers: The Big Lebowski, a White Russian dedicated to the 1998 independent crime comedy; Sweet Home Alabama, an Alabama Slammer honoring a 2002 Reese Witherspoon classic; and Crazy, Stupid, Love, an Old Fashioned almost as good as Ryan Gosling’s cocktail from the 2011 romcom. On top of all the incredible fundraising, Parkway Lanes donated $1 for every specialty drink, $1 for every order of garlic bread, and $2 for every pizza sold throughout the event for an additional $509. By the end of the weekend, our community helped us raise just shy of $104,000 to support BBBS!
Bowl for Kids’ Sake is a yearly fundraiser benefitting BBBS. This year’s planning committee was co-chaired by Amy Docter of BBBS and Christina Jones of Grande Cheese Company.
Shoutout to the sponsors who made this event possible: [PLATINUM] 95 & 96-1 The Rock, Bristol Morgan Bank, Fox Valley Savings Bank, Grande Cheese Company, Integrity Saw & Tool Inc., Taco Bell. [GOLD] BrownBoots Interactive Inc., Excel Engineering, Van Horn Automotive. [SILVER] Bank First, CLA, Fond du Lac Credit Union, Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis, J.F. Ahern Co., Luedtke Lumber Inc., Michels Corporation, Parkway Lanes, Sabel Mechanical LLC, Signarama, SSM Health, T.T.I. Inc. [LANE] A&W Restaurant, Ahern Gross Plumbing, Air Tech Heating Inc., BackYard Grill & Bar, BE’s Refreshments, Benvenuto’s Italian Bar & Grill, Bob’s Pizza, Club Car Wash, The Diner, Eaton’s Fresh Pizza, Elite Wealth Planners, Ellison Electric Supply Inc, Fat Joe’s Burgers and Brew, Flood Homes, Fond du Lac Cyclery, Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, Fond du Lac Police Benevolent Association, Gallery & Frame Shop, Gilles Frozen Custard, Gino’s Italian Restaurant, The Hive, Holiday Automotive, Horicon Bank, Kenealy Counseling LLC, Knuth Brewing Company, Kwik Trip, Lakeside Wealth Management LLC, LEB Insurance Group, M&M Printing, Manowske Welding Corp, Masterson Staffing Solutions, Muthig Industries Inc, Odyssey Cinemas, Philly’s on 4th Grocery & Deli, Studio One Designer Photography, Subway, Twohig Funeral Home, Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, Verve, W.J. Leasa Electric, Waas Boring & Cable Inc, Wabash, Whispering Springs Golf Club, Wrightway Home Improvements.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County is a United Way Agency that assists children with social, emotional, and character development through one-to-one mentoring relationships with caring adults. The agency matches children with a Big Brother, Sister, Couple, or Family in a community or school-based program. Children ages 6-13 can enroll in the program through parent or guardian referral. For more information about the program or to volunteer, call (920) 922-8200 or visit www.bbbsfdl.org.
