Clinton, IA (April 1, 2015) -  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton hosted another hilariously successful fundraiser, their Night of Laughs dueling pianos event, last Friday, March 27 at Gil's Restaurant and Ballroom.

Clinton area residents stepped up their game this year and helped Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton raise thousands of dollars towards their one-on-one youth mentoring programs.  Attendees at this year's fundraiser had a ball requesting and singing along to their favorite hits belted out by the Midwest Dueling Pianos and bidding on great silent auction prizes.

"It's the great generosity of Clinton area businesses and residents that enable us to continue to provide our outcome based youth mentoring programs to Clinton County and Fulton, IL youth facing adversity.  Without their generosity we wouldn't be able to provide support needed to help children succeed in life." Says Executive Director, Kellie Hillis.

On behalf of the staff, Board of Directors and the families we serve, we would like to thank:

1. Gil's Restaurant and Ballroom for putting together a wonderful appetizer spread, great customer service and allowing us the use of the ballroom.
2. Toyota, ADM, Ashford University, Clinton National Bank, Citizen's First Bank, Holiday Inn Express, LyondellBasell and Sethness Products for their contributions to our fundraiser. Their continued support shows how involved they are in the community and their dedication to our mission.
3. All the area businesses that contributed items to our silent auction.
4. And of course all those who attended the fundraiser.

We at Big Brothers Big Sisters are always looking for children ages 5-17 who could benefit from having an adult mentor in their lives. We also welcome adults and couples, 18 and over, who would like to have the life-changing experience of mentoring a young adult. Mentoring has been proven to help a child with life issues overcome obstacles and improve the odds they will graduate from high school.

National Mentoring Network Looks to Top $21 million in Donations, including $10,000 goal in Clinton County

Clinton, IA (February 22, 2013) - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton is appealing to the community to support Bowl for Kids' Sake, the mentoring organization's biggest annual fundraiser, which raises money needed to carefully pair volunteer mentors with children who face adversity in staff-supported, long-term mentoring friendships.

After more than 40 years, Bowl for Kids' Sake has become Big Brothers Big Sisters' largest national fundraiser, engaging more than a half million people across the country.  Participants solicit pledges from friends and family to raise funds to support the mentoring network's nearly 360 local affiliates.  The organization raised more than $21 million nationally last year and hopes to top that in 2013.  After raising over $10,000 last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton is looking to raise even more this season.

"Bowl for Kids' Sake brings the whole community together in support of a positive future for our kids," said Kellie Hillis, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton. "No matter how someone chooses to be involved?bowler, sponsor or volunteer?each person has a hand in helping to start a child on the right path. Every dollar raised through Bowl for Kids' Sake directly funds our mentoring programs in Clinton county and Fulton, IL and helps to maintain and sustain our mentoring relationships, increasing kids chances for success."

Donor funds, such as those raised through Bowl for Kids' Sake, enable Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide careful mentoring matching and ongoing staff support that keeps one-to-one relationships going strong long-term to help youth overcome adversity to achieve lifelong success. As the nation's largest mentoring network, the organization holds itself accountable for helping children achieve positive measurable outcomes including educational success, avoidance of risky and delinquent behaviors, improved relationships, higher aspirations and greater confidence.

This year's Bowl for Kids' Sake will be April 20, 2013 at Plaza Bowl in Clinton, Iowa.  Bowlers can sign up at www.bbbsclinton.org or by emailing director@bbbsclinton.org.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed.  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton makes a difference in the lives of children and youth and empowers them to realize their highest potential by providing professionally guided one-to-one relationships with caring adults.  Through mentoring, we positively impact individuals, families, schools and communities.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, holds itself accountable for children in its program to achieve measurable outcomes, including educational success; avoidance of risky behaviors; and higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships.  Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports these one-to-one mentoring matches in building safe, enduring relationships.  With about 350 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 630,000 children, volunteers and families. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate or volunteer or join a BFKS event near you at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.