• February 2010
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• September 2007
• March 2007
• December 2006
• March 2006

News

BFKS Makes More Mentoring Matches Possible

09/09/2008

     Bowl for Kids' Sake (BFKS) has been an incredible success for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma (BBBSOK). This year became the 19th year that BBBSOK raised funds through its BFKS initiative. By July, $660,000 had already been raised statewide by 1,060 teams. While funds are still coming in from several locations, BFKS 2008 has exceeded expectations.

     According to BBBSOK Director Resource Development, Renee Meek, all money raised through BFKS is used to cover costs necessary to effectively match waiting Littles to compatible Bigs. For this national initiative, many supporting individuals, companies, and organizations form teams of five who then raise money according to a set goal. Once those goals are met, BBBSOK rewards the team with a Bowl (a celebration during which each team enjoys two free bowling rounds and pizza).

     Meek believes that this fundraiser is not just an effort to generate financial contributions. It also brings people together. When you count all the participants forming teams and the participating companies, thousands of people are involved in making BFKS a success. Meek said, "We touch almost 30,000 people with just that one campaign." It is successful because the people involved are unified. This summer the Tulsa market exceeded its fundraising goal of $325,000 by actually raising more than $337,000. Other markets around the state also reported great success in bringing their people together for the cause of BBBSOK.

     OKC-BFKS Coordinator Adriana Iwasinski reported that Oklahoma City (OKC) law firm Phillips McFall issued a challenge to local firms. They announced that a trophy and bragging rights would be awarded to the firm that formed the most teams and knocked over the most pins. With this motivation, the Law Bowl raised more than $7,000. Phillips McFall walked away with the trophy and bragging rights, but it was not without some competitive energy from fellow attorneys.

     The Tulsa and Oklahoma City branches of CB Richard Ellis followed the lead of the OKC Law Bowl. In order to raise as much money as possible for the cause, the two branches decided to compete to raise more funds than each other. Their strategy helped the Tulsa branch to raise $27,190, and OKC followed with $16,800.

     Bank of Oklahoma also did very well. They managed to raise more than $41,520 statewide between their Sponsorship and Fundraising. They created fun ways to raise money, such as having a jeans day for employees and competing between branches to see who could raise the most money.

     BFKS continued to succeed throughout the state as several BFKS markets participated. Bartlesville reported net funds raised of $107,000. The Claremore and Owasso area raised $54,000, and Norman, $53,000. Stillwater reported donations of about $26,500, while the Shawnee-Ada area brought in about $25,000.

     Next year Meek hopes to continue raising the bar with statewide BFKS efforts. The hope is to find a better way to bridge the gap between larger and smaller markets by working harder to unify commonalities among the Oklahoma markets throughout the state. "If we are all unified statewide, there is a bigger benefit for all BFKS markets," said Meek.