Bowl for Kids' Sake is BACK in 2023!

After a 3-year pause, Bowl for Kids' Sake returns this year, with bowling events in four different regions! 

There's a Bowl for Kids' Sake coming to a bowling center near you!

Androscoggin: Thursday, May 11, 3-9pm, at Just-In-Time Recreation Center, Lewiston  REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW!

Penobscot: Thursday, Sept. 14, 4-8 pm, at Family Fun Bowling, Bangor 

Kennebec: Friday, Oct. 6, 4-8pm, at Sparetime Recreation Center, Hallowell 

Midcoast: Friday, Nov. 3, 2-8pm at ALLPLaY Family Entertainment Center, Belfast

Get Your Teams Ready!  Get Rolling Here! 

Big THANKS to our Bowl for Kids' Sake Presenting Sponsor:

A Message From Our New Executive Director Tade Sullivan

Greetings!

I am excited to be reaching out to you, as the new Executive Director at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine. Joining the team just two months ago, I am so inspired by the incredible passion that our staff and volunteers have for kids. It is palpable! My career and personal life have centered on non-profits and advocacy, and I am honored to work beside them, and you, to carry out the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission of igniting the power and promise of youth in Maine. There is no higher calling than working on behalf of kids in need.

In an effort to get to know the many communities and families we serve, I have been spending time with staff at each of our programs, and getting out in our community to meet our many partners and stakeholders. I do hope in my travels that our paths will cross soon!

At a recent visit in Lewiston, I had the pleasure of seeing, first-hand, the powerful impact BBBS mentoring has on children at Connors Elementary, where they are matched, one-to-one, with student mentors from Bates College. I watched as Littles excitedly waited for their Bigs to arrive, and quickly settled into arts and crafts, playing board games, sharing their day, and enjoying the simplicity of friendship. You could see and feel the impact that these relationships have on all of their lives!

The magic of mentoring is happening in over 30 school and site-based BBBS of Mid-Maine programs, from Lewiston to Bangor, Belfast to Waterville, and in many towns and cities in-between our seven-county service area. It is also taking place every week between hundreds of Bigs and Littles in our community-based programs, where amazing mentors are changing the lives of children for the better, forever!   

In today’s world, kids are more frequently and intensely feeling adult pressures. Families and children are recovering from the isolation of the last few years of Covid-19. Many of our kids are living is low-income households, facing food insecurity, and struggling academically and socially. When Littles meet with their Bigs, they are given time each week to set it all aside, become the center of someone’s attention, and just be a kids. With the help of caring, positive role models, children are given the opportunity to realize, and achieve, their greatest possible potential.    

Every day, the life-transforming work of BBBS of Mid-Maine is helping kids become more confident and prepared for their future. This is all taking place at no cost to our Bigs and Littles, thanks to our supporters, who recognize the long-term benefits of youth mentoring to our society is immeasurable.   

Thank you for being a partner. I encourage you to learn more by following us on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed, and becoming more involved in this powerful mission. The most impactful way is to volunteer to Be a Big to a child waiting for a friend! We’re also looking for volunteers to share their passion and knowledge by serving on one of our agency committees. Sign up to Bowl for Kids’ Sake or Golf Fore Kids’ Sake with your family and co-workers to help raise critical funding for mentoring programs. Or consider making a donation to support the important work of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine.

My office is located in Camden, but our mission spans many miles throughout Maine to serve kids, so please feel free to contact me directly by phone or email so we can connect.

I look forward to all that we will do together to defend potential!

Warm regards,

We're Hiring a New MidCoast Program Manager

Looking for a rewarding career that ignites the power and promise of youth in the midcoast region? That ALSO offers a flexible schedule, hybrid remote work from our Camden office, competitive salary and benefits, and the opportunity to work with an amazing team of professionals? If so, we're ready to meet you! We're hiring a full-time MidCoast Program Manager to coordinate school and community-based programming, while championing the agency's regional fundraising efforts to support them. Learn more and apply right now for this unique opportunity to stand with kids! 

Meet Hayley and Ryder!

Click the Green Play Button to meet Big Sister Hayley and her Little Sister, Ryder, featured in our BRAND NEW VIDEO sharing their life-changing friendship that was created through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine! Every week, Ryder and Hayley meet up for a couple of hours to chat while they draw, color, take walks and sometimes even break out into dance! It takes so little time to make a Big Impact! 

Have you ever thought about becoming a Big? There has never been a better time than RIGHT NOW! 

 Learn more right now about how easy it is to change a life! #DefendPotential2023

Volunteer Program Coordinators Needed!

Interested in being a volunteer coordinators at one of our school-based mentoring programs? Coordinators are adults (18 years or older) from the community who can dedicate 1½ hours, one day each week from October through May (except school vacation weeks) to supervise match meetings of high school mentors (Bigs) and elementary school Littles.  

School-based programs have 1-2 coordinators who attend each week to oversee and supervise match meetings to ensure child safety and support Bigs and Littles.  We interview, screen, train, and support you all year! Continuing education credits are provided.  

Successful coordinators are responsible, dedicated, enjoy working with and coaching youth of all ages and backgrounds, have great listening skills, are willing to learn, have patience, flexibility and love helping kids reach their greatest potential.  Coordinators arrive early to greet the matches, help set up and clean up, organize meeting supplies and snacks, facilitate group activities, and provide support to both Bigs and Littles.

To learn more about becoming a volunteer school-based coordinator, please call us 236-BBBS (2227) or email info@bbbsmidmaine.org   

MEET OUR BIGS WITH BADGES!

Chief Jared Mills and his Little Brother Caleb were among the first to be matched in BBBS of Mid-Maine’s first Bigs with Badges mentoring program, a collaborative partnership matching students from Sylvio J. Gilbert Elementary School with mentors from the Augusta Police Department. For an hour every week, Officer Mills visits Caleb at his school for lunch, shooting hoops or a board game. Learn how this new friendship is already impacting Caleb, and Officer Mills!

Riley can’t wait for her Big Sister Officer Sara Rogers to arrive every week for lunch and playtime! Their  unique friendship is growing each time they meet, discovering their mutual love for football, card games, and knowledge of all things Pokémon! Usually quiet and shy, Riley is discovering her voice and finding new self-confidence. While Officer Rogers is discovering her passion for mentoring! It's a perfect match. Watch their story!  Our Bigs with Badges program launch in 2021 was made possible with the help of a United Way of Kennebec Valley Innovation Grant. Together, we’re creating positive, one-to-one relationships that will no doubt ignite the power and promise of local youth!