8/7/2019 March 16 2011 Kaleidescope

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BOWL FOR KIDS Sake brought together big kids and little ones for a day of fun and fundraising. Pic-tured are (top to bottom) Chris and Blaydn Lampien, Karen Enns, Wyatt Lampien and Josh Worth andPat Olson of Orchard Lanes. Below is a view inside the new Next Door Inc. building on Tucker Road.

By ADAM LAPIERRENews staff writer

Grateful.Thats how Janet Hamada describes The

Next Door Inc.s reaction to the roughly$750,000 in donations and grants theagency has received in recent months. Thefunds, including $180,000 in community do-nations, grants from Hood River Rotaryand the Hood River Lions and $150,000grants from the Meyer Memorial Trustand the Ford Family Foundation, will gotoward renovating its new 12,000-square-foot central office on Tucker Road (in the

former Encore Video building).The new location will be home to a vari-

ety of NDI programs that have beenhoused in different locations around townfor many years. With a move-in expected tostart next week, the nonprofit will take thefinal step toward fulfilling a decades-longdream of having all its programs underone roof.

Those programs include Big BrothersBig Sisters of the Columbia Gorge, Fami-lies First, New Parent Services, NuestraComunidad Sana, treatment services andyouth and family services and the KlahreHouse.

Without the support from the commu-nity, this building would not be possible,Hamada said. We are grateful that soonall of our Hood River programs will be to-gether in one brand-new building, which

means that we will be able to get moredone, save money and our facility will beeven safer and more comfortable for staffand clients.

Hamada said the project has remainedon schedule and on budget and, withroughly a week budgeted for moving intothe new building, the change should occurwithout interruption of services.

Our grand opening celebration isscheduled for April 21 (5 p.m.) and wedlove to have people come out for that, shesaid. Hard Hat Tours continue at 5 p.m.every Wednesday and Thursday evening

throughout March for those who wouldlike to see the building now (no appoint-ment necessary).

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Hamada named the following contrac-tors who donated to the new building:

Design Structures LLC (general contrac-tor); Pacific Power (electrical service utili-ty); Brown Roofing Co. (roof coverings);Steve W. Broders C ompany, LLC (interiordoors and frames supply); WKO Inc. (woodframing material supply); Gary Denney(floor covering and carpet); Links SheetMetal (refrigeration cooler and heating/acequipment installation); Devco Mechani-cal, Inc. (plumbing); Beam, Couch & LevelExcavating (septic system); Gorge Electric(electrical); Pathfinder DevelopmentGroup (masonry).

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 C1

Inside: C2, Local columnsI C3, HappeningsI C4, Medical DirectoryI C5, YesteryearsI C6,

By JIM DRAKENews staff writer

Why did I become a BigBrother? Well, the plain factis my dad died last May, andas sad as that was for me, thepassing really made me re-flect on my life and made me

take a look at what I could doto help a community pro-gram.

Looking back on that, itsso ironic that something likea funeral is needed in todaysworld to make me stop andput perspective on things, buttodays life is a lot more hec-tic than it used to be. Every-one is trying to balance work,family, hobbies lif e seemsnormal to only focus on theshort term. Celebratingsomeones past life made mewant to contribute to some-one elses long-term goals.

My interest in the BBBSprogram stemmed from a

basic, direct form of commu-nication: The newspaper.Weve had dozens of ads andstories in the paper, lookingfor volunteer mentors. I keptreading them, week afterweek. I had a feeling that mymind was filing

those ads, alongwith the sum totalof what I would callmy life experiencefiles. My brainsecretary was say-ing, You know, youcould help withhomework; youvedone plenty of that.You could showsomeone how toplay a guitar. You used tobuild those plastic car mod-els. This ad is speaking toyou.

Was I apprehensive about

the application process? Youbet. Much like a job applica-

tion, I realized this was acommitment to be organized,

accessible and reliable. The

process made me reach out tofriends on another level. I

hope that in a mentoringrole, these aspects will help

build a trusting re-

lationship, andhopefully have theinfluence of posi-

tive behavior.As I was filling

out the application,I completed a check-

list entitled Whatactivities do you

like to do? It waseasy to fill out.

After a few weeks, Imet with my Little Brother. I

took another look at thatchecklist. Who would have

thought that this simple formhad the potential to help

someone else in the long run?

By KIRBY NEUMANN-REANews editor

Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer MaryBrenneman wielded a loud microphone thatsomehow penetrated the enthusiastic din atOrchard Lanes.

Brenneman continually read raffle ticketsand called out names as bowlers claimedprizes donated by local merchants, all part ofthe day-long Bowl for Kids Sake event forBig Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of theGorge.

Just about everyone took home a prize,and the room was full of winners as the sev-enth-annual event raised a record $43,000.

Im very pleased with the way it went,said Kristin Reese, program manager forBBBS. We had bunch of new teams; its al-ways good to get more people involved.

The total comes from $11,000 in sponsor-ships (see list below) and $33,000 in dona-

tions raised by the 240 bowlers on 48 five-member teams, bowling in six flights tak-ing up the enti re bowling alley.

Beneventis of Bingen was the top money-raising team, with $7,000, helped by the an-nual garage sale in November 2010 and lastmonths lasagna feed.

Whats most impressive about this eventis it brings so many people from this regiontogether; not just the teams but the peoplewho donate money, Reese said. The com-munity is a big part of the success of theevent.

The funds support the 75-plus Littles andtheir Bigs in local communities served bythe agency. The bowling event is GorgeBBBS largest fundraiser, and part of a na-tional event.

Based on keeping expenses down, we

should be netting $2,000 or $3,000 more than

last year, Reese said.BBBS provides a positive link between

youth and their communities by promotingstrong, one-on-one mentor relationships witha caring adult.

These mentors provide friendship, supportand guidance.

(For a personal perspective on getting in-volved as a Big, see accompanying articlebelow by Jim Drake of the Hood RiverNews.)

In Hood River County 10 boys and threegirls await placement with a mentor. InKlickitat County, there are four boys and onegirl.

Kids range in age from 6 to 15, first gradethrough ninth grade.

Some kids have been on my waitlist for amatter of days; some for a year and a half,said Beth McCullough, BBBS match coordi-

nator.They come from caring families who areasking for help, for an additional adult intheir childs life to help the child succeed. Re-ally good kids who need a confidence boost.

All of them want a Big Brother or Sister.No one is pressuring the kids to be in BBBS.They are eager to get out and about and ex-perience new things. Many families donthave a lot of resources so the kids are stuckat home in front of the TV.

Most volunteer mentors get to see theirLittles experience firsts the first time onskis, the first time skipping rocks, the firsttime at OMSI, the first time at a 3-D movie.The initial time commitment is two hours aweek for one year; ideally BBBS creates afriendship that lasts a lifetime.

McCullough can be reached at 541-490-9979.For more information about the programand Bowl for Kids Sake, contact Reese at 541-

308-2231 or kristinr@nextdoorinc.org or visitwww.nextdoorinc.org.

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Title sponsors were NW Natural and HoodRiver Garbage (a Waste Connections Compa-ny).

Major sponsors BiCoastal Media, Centu-ryLink, DelCarpine Automotive, Hood RiverLions, Hood River Valley Christian Church,Insitu Inc., Les Schwab Tire Centers, NAPAAuto Parts in The Dalles, Providence HoodRiver Memorial Hospital, Rage Graphix &Design, Summit Projects, US Bank in TheDalles, Wasco County Commission on Chil-dren and Families

Special Banner Sponsor Cardinal IGFlight sponsors H2Oregon,, Nelson Tire

Factory, Griffith MotorsLane sponsors Art Braun Enterprises,

CenterPointe Community Bank, Columbia

State Bank, Ferguson Enterprises, Hatten-hauer Distributing, Munsen Paving, North-ern Wasco PUD, Oregon Cherry Growers,Spookys Pizza, Turtle Island Foods.

Bowl for Kids Sake raises record $43,000 to support mentorship program

JIM DRAKE

Why I became a Big Brother

NDIs new home nearly complete

up livesBuilding

Knockingdown pins,