One moment at Clancy's Village Bowl on Saturday stands out in junior Jessica Sallee's mind.
In the lane next to hers, a young boy was struggling to hit a pin.
"It's hard, you know, being that young, so we went and tried to help him," she said. "Then he did, and he was smiling and smiling, he was so happy."
Sallee and three other Ball State Nursing Association members bowled with Muncie children Saturday as part of Bowl for Kids' Sake, the annual end-of-year celebration for Delaware County's chapter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Various businesses and groups in the Muncie community, including Kohl's, WLBC and the Muncie Fire Department, also formed teams.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization that matches adult volunteers with children they can mentor.
Taryn Poti, executive director for the Delaware County chapter, said about 50 percent of volunteers at the Delaware County chapter are Ball State University students.
Money raised for the organization goes to recruiting, screening and training volunteers. By the time a child is taken off the waiting list and paired with a volunteer mentor, the process costs about $500, she said.
All participants bowled for free as a thank you for raising donations and supporting Big Brothers, Big Sisters throughout the year, she said.
"Nobody cares about the score, nobody cares how good you are at it," Poti said. "It's just about having a good time bowling with friends and family."
Participants also had the chance to win door prizes, she said.
Sallee, Sherita Fair and Lindsey Stevens laughed when teammate Carmen Masterson won a $5 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings.
"She said at the beginning that she'd better get something from B-Dubs because it was her favorite restaurant, and so when she did, we all laughed," Sallee said.
Bowl for Kids' Sake, a nationwide event, is usually held in February, but this year the chapter decided to postpone the event until April to bring in more money. Poti said she thought February was too close to the holiday season and people would be less likely to donate.
Although this year's fundraising total had not been finalized as of Monday afternoon, Poti said the organization will probably not meet its goal.
She attributes the lower number of both participating teams and overall donations to the economic recession, she said.
"It's more challenging in these times to ask people to donate, so I'm still glad for what we did get," she said.
Changes for next year include more advertising with a clearer emphasis on the event's purpose, Poti said.
"It's not just about that date [of Bowl for Kids' Sake]," she said. "This is just the end of one annual campaign. It has nothing to do with bowling, so to have people understand this event, that's the hardest thing."
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