By Vivian Collings

Grab your favourite pool attire, a group of friends, and head over to the Fast Lane Bowling alley, located at 12281 Highway 35 in Minden on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to raise funds to support youth mentorship in the Haliburton County.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake, a fundraiser event for Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) of Kawartha Lakes – Haliburton’s mentoring programs, is returning after a two-year hiatus.
“Over the last two years we have experienced an increase in demand for our service throughout the County of Haliburton. We are working to increase services we provide. This summer we are offer a Ready for High School program in August at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School. With the funds raised at Bowl for Kids’ Sake, we hope to expand our In School Mentoring Program to schools throughout the area,” said BBBS of Kawartha Lakes – Haliburton executive director Janice Balfour in a press release for the event.
BBBS mentoring programs are designed to help children and youth in need of an additional supportive relationship and pairs them with a volunteer adult mentor.

Rawn Moore has been a BBBS mentor in Haliburton County a number of years.
“Mentoring? Fabulous. If you have the chance to do it, you should do it. It is very rewarding, and I feel very fortunate with the matches I’ve had over the years, and the one I have now I’ve had for nine or 10 years. I think mentoring is a very important role, and kids have to know that they have a place that they can go to talk it out,” Rawn said.
Prizes will be awarded to those wearing the best pool attire as well as those who received the most pledges.
“Dress up in whatever you’d wear to your pool party, and we’ll have fun prizes for best team costume and best individual costume. We have lots of room for lots of people to sign up still,” Balfour said.
Each team must raise a minimum of $40 in pledges per team member, and BBBS of Kawartha Lakes – Haliburton has a goal to raise $15,000.

Balfour said, “Typically it was done in the winter, but we wanted to try it in the summer this year to see if we could get some more visitors and make it a little bit of a bigger event this year.”
Balfour said Bowl for Kids’ Sake has been a signature event for BBBS Canada for more than 40 years.
Chiara Moore, event and community engagement coordinator for BBBS of Kawartha Lakes – Haliburton, said there will be a silent auction at the event featuring items donated by local Haliburton and Kawartha Lakes businesses.
“We have signed celebrity memorabilia, mainly athletics, and then we also have tickets donated by Peterborough Liftlock Cruises that will be going into our silent auction,” Chiara said.
Participants can register teams of four or six up until the day of the event at www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/big-brothers-big-sisters-of-kawartha-lakes-haliburton-inc/p2p/BFKSH2022.