BBBS Bowl-A-Thon Fundraiser, Please Consider Donating!

TODAY is the 5TH YEAR that Sam and I have been bowling in the Big Brother Big Sister Bowl-A-Thon Fundraiser! We are hoping to raise $500 this year, and you can donate easily online! Please consider making a donation today, and reading about (and watching videos, below!) from our first year participating. Very fun and cool to look back on this.

This picture is from 2009 (our first year)
 

Thanks, everyone! You can donate at the following link: http://chd.myetap.org/fundraiser/BFKS13/team.do?participationRef=2526.0.568390938

---From 2009 (Year 1)---

Yesterday was the Big Brother Big Sister Bowl-A-Thon...the event that this whole fundraising effort was leading up to. BBBS tried to raise a total of $55,000 and have 500 participants in the event (over a two day period of renting out a bowling alley in Northampton). Sam and I arrived at 2:00 and bowled for 2 hours with Nemat (another UMass student and big brother), his little Johnathan, and a third little brother named Amari. We cheered each other on after every bowl, gutterball or not, and I can honestly say that I've never given so many high fives in my entire life. It was loads of fun and all the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves; which is the most important thing. I also lost my voice after hootin and hollerin for those two hours. It was great.

Now for the fundraising breakdown;

• Sam contacted family, friends, and became the number 5 fundraiser in the ENTIRE big brothers organization. He raised over $400 himself. Nice job Sam.
• I went all out for this event; putting donation jars with a write-up about the event at my places of work, creating a public facebook group and inviting (one by one) 500 people to it, e-mailing friends, family, friend's family, academia...
• Our total amount raised was $1195. Initially we had a $200 goal, then it became $200 each or $400, then $500, then $1000. Our team, "A Couple of 'Sirs'," was the number two fundraising team in Hampshire County.

Thank you all so much for supporting Sam and I in our efforts to raise money for such a good organization. All of you are such kind and generous people to have donated money - especially given the current economic times. You are truly great people and I am so glad to have you all in my life. Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Sam, the champion bowler (I think he just got an 8). Good job, Sir.

I think Sam took this picture and it was when I got a strike. But perhaps I'm just saying that... you will never for sure without a video!

The 3 'short guys!' on our lane; (From left to right) Johnathan, Sam, and Amari

Video of Sam, droppin those pins!

Johnathan bowls a strike! High fives all around.

Here's the link to donate again, to our 5th year of participating!: http://chd.myetap.org/fundraiser/BFKS13/team.do?participationRef=2526.0.568390938