Bowl For Kids' Sake hopes to raise $179K

As House Manager of the IU Auditorium, Jon Larkin has the job of preparing the upcoming shows. At this time of the year, however, raising thousands of dollars for Bowl for Kids' Sake is something he chooses to do in his free time. \n"I am not one of the leading money-raisers, I am the leading money-raiser," Larkin said with a laugh.\nLarkin said that so far, he has raised about $1,700 for Bowl for Kids' Sake, the largest national fundraiser the Big Brothers Big Sisters program directs annually.\nThis year marks the 19th year the fundraiser has happened in Bloomington. The money raised covers one-third of the operating budget for the mentoring program, along with several other programs. \nThe community will have its bowl on Feb. 24 and 25 and March 3. IU teams bowl Feb. 28 and March 1. \nHaving the bowling event is a way to say "thank you" to the teams and individuals who raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters, said Lee Ann Jourdan, the Associate Development Director and Special Event Fundraising for Big Brothers Big Sisters.\nAs of press time, there are 59 IU teams and 140 community teams registered, Jourdan said. Last year, $166,000 were raised. This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to raise $179,000, Jourdan said. \n"The Aud Squad," as Larkin refers to his team, raised $3,700 last year with about 40 students participating in the bowling event, he said.\nLarkin started participating in Bowl for Kids' Sake in 2002 because the Auditorium encouraged him to. With $150 raised, Larkin and his team of four went from small beginnings to winning a trophy, the Hoosier Hero, for being the top IU competitors. Larkin hopes to win the award again this year.\nThe trophy goes to the group at IU that raises the most money, Jourdan said.\n"It was up to me whether or not to keep going," Larkin said. "It is a part of my job for student activities to connect with one another and the other part is to connect with the community and campus. The reason I stick with it and will continue to as long as I work here is that it is a terrific activity to get my students out of the theater and support and do something fun that benefits the community." \nThis year the theme for the event is "Rock 'n' Roll," and anyone interested in volunteering can register up until the event happens. Online \nregistration is available at www.kintera.org. To bowl, the minimum each team must raise is $500 for IU and $625 for the community teams. With the online fundraising system in which participants can go and make their own page, anyone donating money can go online and make contributions.\nJourdan said that because of this process, it is fairly easy to donate money. In addition, Jourdan said participants can campaign for money, host parties and charge a cover that contributes to the event, along with other fundraising methods. \n"It is approaching quickly," Jourdan said of the Bowl for Kids' Sake event. "We will still accept teams up until the event, unless of course we run out of space … but that would be a good problem to have."\nThose interested can go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Web site, and click on the Bowl for Kids' Sake link.