Jonathon Svec, defensive co-ordinator with the St. F.X. football X-Men and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters, is the honorary chair for this year’s Bowl for Kids Sake.

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The build-up for Big Brothers Big Sisters major fundraiser, Bowl for Kids Sake, begins this Sunday (Feb. 26) with a kick-off breakfast event.
The kick-off will be held in conjunction with an Antigonish Lions Club pancake breakfast.
Crystal Gallant, from Big Brothers Big Sisters, hopes joining forces with a popular Antigonish tradition will introduce Bowl for Kids Sake to a new audience.
“We always have a kick-off but this is the first time we’re doing it with the Lions,” she said. “So hopefully we’ll not only see already registered teams (at the breakfast) but extra people who might go to the breakfast anyway.”
The breakfast is by donation which will also go to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“So it’s a win, win, win,” Gallant said.
The kick-off breakfast goes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lions Club Den on the Highland Drive.
Gallant said teams can enjoy a breakfast while picking up their packages for Bowl for Kids Sake, a fundraiser she said is “our biggest one for sure.”
“And 93 percent of our budget is through fundraising,” Gallant added.
Honorary chair for this year’s Bowl for Kids Sake is Jonathon Svec, defensive co-ordinator with the St. F.X. football X-Men and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Svec said he was “happy” to accept the request to serve as honorary chair.
He noted he started volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters last summer and finds it a very rewarding experience.
“They (Big Brother Big Sisters staff) do a great job down there pairing up ‘bigs’ with the ‘littles’ that share similar interests,” Svec said, using the organizational terms for adult volunteers and children involved in the programs.
“When we’re hanging out, it’s stuff we both like to do anyway. So it’s a lot of outdoor activities, sports, things we both enjoy… it’s a very rewarding experience.”
The local Big Brothers Big Sisters enjoys a good volunteer presence from St. F.X. students but both Gallant and Svec noted it would be great to see more community members become involved.
“The students are great but they are only here for a short period of time,” Svec said. “I would definitely encourage any community member to get involved. There is a lot of stuff you can do around this area, the littles always enjoy it and it’s definitely a great experience.”
For additional information about the Big Brothers Big Sisters and Bowl for Kids, see their website at www.bowlforkidssake.ca.