Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
In week 3 of her first five weeks of being a Big Sister was really when the Big Brothers Big Sisters program hit home for Lois Borkholder.
“I’m a Lunch Buddy, which means I go once a week and have lunch with my Little at her school. The third week, she saw me in the hallway and she came running and gave me the biggest hug, and it was when I was thinking back on that, I was like, ‘This is what it’s about. When you see yourself start to become a part of somebody else’s story in a really positive way, that’s really impactful,’” she said at Saturday’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake at The Bowling Alley in Warsaw.
“It’s impactful to the person who is being the mentor, and, hopefully, impactful to the mentee as well. But that’s when it just came first circle for me,” Borkholder recalled.
Borkholder was one of a number of Bigs and Littles at Bowl for Kids’ Sake Saturday and Sunday.
Tammy Vetor Smith, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Northeast Indiana community development director for Kosciusko County, explained “Bowl for Kids’ Sake is our original, grassroots fundraiser that they do nationally, so we’ve been doing it for many, many years. It’s our first fundraiser of the year where we ask people to become team captains, get a team of five and do some fundraising on their own, and then they come out to the party, which is today.”
Along with the bowling Saturday and Sunday at The Bowling Alley, there were door prizes and a best-dressed costume. This year’s event had a sports theme, so participants were encouraged to dress up with that theme in mind. Bowl for Kids’ Sake took place in six different counties, with Sunday being the final day for all of the counties.
“Today’s really the culmination of a couple of months of fundraising, so we helped them create an online fundraising page that individuals and teams shared on social media and raised money, so today’s really the culmination of that and the party at the end,” she said.
BBBS of Northeast Indiana had a fundraising goal of $275,000 this year for all of the counties it serves. The goal specifically for Kosciusko County was $40,000 of that, and while Smith didn’t have the total as of Saturday, she said it was “going pretty good!”
All the funds raised in Kosciusko County go to support BBBS’ programs in the county. It helps BBBS gets kids who are waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister get off the waiting list, as well as support the matches BBBS already have.
“We currently have 167 matches in Kosciusko County; have 38 kids officially on our waiting list; another 70-plus in the application process for both programs - School Buddies, which is our lunch buddy program in the schools, and Community-Based,” she said.
Smith said the data shows that there’s a lot of benefits for kids with a mentor. They do better in school, have higher self-esteem and kids in BBBS’ program have higher graduation rates. “There’s a ripple effect to it. They just have better decision-making when they get to be teenagers, so there’s a lot of data behind having a mentor in a child’s life, even if it is for a short time,” she stated.
One of the kids who benefits from BBBS is Avah Miller, 14. She’s been a Little for almost a year.
“I like that no matter what stage of life I’m in, I always have someone to go to, that she’s always there and always willing to listen. She’s just great,” she said of her Big, Lauri Williamson.
Before becoming a Little, Avah said she had heard of the program. At first she wasn’t sure if she was capable of being a Little, so after further investigation she found out she could and she was connected to Williamson.
Kelsey Miller, Avah’s mother, said Avah was “going through a lot with the stress of school and had some depression, and we had tried a lot of other routes like therapy and things like that, but this was more where she could have someone in her life on a daily basis.”
When Avah became a Little, Kelsey said Williamson was able to have access to Avah to talk about “daily life stuff,” whether that’s over the phone or during match activities.
“I just saw her have more confidence, and she just kind of came out of that slump where Lauri has walked alongside her to help her just kind of learn life skills and coping skills. It’s like having a friend,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey’s other daughter, Norah Miller, is also a Little and her Big is Leah Reinholt. They have been matched up for about three months.
“Norah was really excited to become a Little because she’s watched Avah be with her Big and they were having a lot of fun together, and, like I said, life is hard, and the kids, they’re in fourth grade experiencing things I hadn’t experienced until high school and being exposed to things that are big and scary, and she didn’t know how to navigate those things. Her and Leah have been able to talk through that kind of stuff,” Kelsey said.
She stated she thinks BBBS is an awesome program because, “They get to talk to their Bigs about things they might not be comfortable talking to Mom and Dad about. It’s more of a friendship than an authoritative situation.”
During the year, BBBS typically has two local fundraisers, Smith said. Bowl for Kids’ Sake is the first one, and then there’s the Big Celebration in the fall.
“But, I have some exciting news. In May we are hold our first-ever Women’s Champagne Brunch on May 2 at The Owl’s Nest, so more information to come on that,” Smith stated.
Other events throughout the year include match activities - two or three a month - for the Community-Based matches to spend some time together if they want to do that. Sometimes organizations will host those activities for BBBS, and a dinner is usually provided. It can be something as simple as a picnic and games to an outing to a sporting or other activity.
Troy Galbraith, commercial banker with First Merchants Bank, said First Merchants Bank was one of the sponsors of Bowl for Kids’ Sake and they had a team that was bowling as well.
“We support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana across several counties, as well as here in Kosciusko County where I’m a Big, and it’s just an opportunity to give a child extra resources and to be a friend to a child and help mentor them and make sure that they know people are looking out for them and want to see them do well,” he said.
Galbraith has been a Big for about 3-1/2 years through the Lunch Buddy program.
“I always tell people it gives me an opportunity on Tuesdays at lunch to see the world through the life of a sixth-grader,” he stated. “And, I’m sure I get more out of it than he does, but I leave our lunches on Tuesdays always with some kind of laugh and always with just a little bit of different perspective than I walked in. It’s just a fun time.”
Borkholder, who works in occupational health at MedStat for Lutheran Kosciusko, said, “This organization has become something I’m really passionate about. I’m also part of the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club, and our main mission is youth in Kosciusko County. So falling in line with the Big Brothers Big Sisters idea of mentoring, it just feels like it all comes together in a nice little package for me,” she said.
Borkholder also was emceeing all the Bowl for Kids’ Sake events over the weekend.
“I love it. I’m pretty passionate about serving our community, and if I can find a way to volunteer my time and talents and energy, I’m going to do that,” she stated.
If someone is interested in getting involved in BBBS, Smith said the easiest way to contact them is to Google Big Brothers Big Sisters (https://bbbsnei.org/), put in your zip code and it’ll connect you to the northeast Indiana regional office, which covers Kosciusko County. Smith said they can also contact her directly as well.
