FROM December 1st to January 31st bowlers at Terrace Lanes in Terrace are lacing up their shoes and fundraising for Variety – The Children’s Charity. They join 45 bowling centres across the province who are participating in the 28th annual BC Bowls For Kids, a two-month long campaign in partnership with Bowl BC and Youth Bowling Canada. Terrace Lanes has participated in the annual fundraiser for 24 years and has raised over $59,000 for Variety.
The funds go to help families with children like Celeste, who with her sister Coco are this year's BC Bowls For Kids poster girls. Celeste was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a life-threatening condition where the diaphragm does not close and the internal organs push into the chest cavity. Emergency surgery corrected the problem but it was six months before Celeste was strong enough to go home with her parents and twin sister. Variety helped the family with funding for expensive medications, specialized formula and a feeding tube. Celeste, now three years old, still needs the feeding tube, but she is slowly learning to swallow normally.
“In the last five years, Variety provided grants to 47 families and organizations in Terrace totalling $52,691,” says Bernice Scholten, Executive Director at Variety – The Children’s Charity. “Partnerships with organizations like Bowl BC and Youth Bowling Canada helps to ensure that Variety will always be there for families in every community.”
BC Bowls for Kids is a province-wide campaign that has raised $3 million for Variety. The campaign is open to everyone and if you, your business, school or community group would like to put a team together and Bowl For Kids, contact Louise Duffy, Events Coordinator at Variety BC: louise.duffy@variety.bc.ca or 604.320.0505.