Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe (BBBS) will not be hosting their annual Bowl for Kids event this year. Every year, the organization hosts Wii Bowling in local schools as well as real bowling event at the bowling alley for the community. Typically, the Bowl for Kids Sake fundraises around $60,000 for BBBS which covers a large portion of their yearly costs. 

“Our whole budget is only $200,000 for a normal year. That donation is a giant chunk of our budget. The inability to fundraise normally has definitely impacted our charity and our operations. We are still taking kids, we're still fully open to families, and our matches are still running because they're one to one support programs but we've had to do more with considerably less,” said Zens. 

Instead of the Bowl for Kids, BBBS Lacombe is offering two other events instead which include Walk for Kids Sake which is being offered in local schools and The Big Race which is a large-scale scavenger hunt. Although Walk for Kids Sake had to be postponed due to the most recent school closure, already the school fundraiser has raised approximately $11,000 for the organization. However, Executive Director for Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe, Crystal Zens is still waiting for more teams to sign up for The Big Race.  

“I think people don't understand the race. It's not a real race. It's just like The Amazing Race like a scavenger hunt. You can do it safely with your own family or your own cohort, and it's just independent. You have the weekend to do it. We'll have everything hidden for that weekend,” said Zens.

Teams may be asked to get photos around Lacombe and area  and do activities for the scavenger hunt. 

It is $200 to register a team to participate but if you register before May 31st, you will be eligible for an early bird fee of $150. 

Zens is thankful for the event sponsors who have helped to provide over $7,000 worth of donations to the event but is hoping to see more participants come on board. Between both events they hope to fundraise around $30,000. 

Despite several challenges, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe continues to see the generosity of the community of Lacombe. An anonymous donor has become the organization’s Landlord of the Month for the remainder of the year and Emma Law and Company has covered over two months of bills for the Bamford House. 

“Such kindness comes through and unfortunately in COVID, you can get bombarded with the craziness and the negativity but the kind people are still there. They just they don't have a platform as often,” said Zens. 

It’s been difficult to manage some programs due to the latest restrictions but the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe continues to offer virtual programming where they can. They are always looking for mentors for their growing list of kids. For more information on mentorship, click here. 

You can find more information on The Big Race here.