Vicki Davis

Seeing the two jumping up and down and hugging at the Wayne Lanes in Waynesboro on Saturday, you'd have thought Vicki Davis or her "little sister," Abigal Ellinger, had bowled a strike.

Neither did - Davis bowled a 59 and Abigal a 66 using bumpers as aides - but it didn't matter.

Davis, the development director for the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge, and Abigal were excited for another reason.

"We raised $10,000," Davis squealed in glee.

By the end of the two-day bowl-a-thon today, Davis expects pledges and donations to reach $20,000 - enough to provide mentors for 20 additional kids.

The red-haired Abigal, who turns 8 on Monday, strained happily in tossing the size six bowling ball down the lane, proudly displaying her new baseball card collection and bounding energetically throughout the facility.However, she was never far from Davis.

The two first met last Halloween, with Abigal dressed as a green-faced witch.And the two have gotten close since then.

"She's the most loveable child," Davis said, "I love her."

And Abigal returns the love.

"It feels good," she says of having a Big Sister."She's nice and helps me."

The average cost to provide a mentor for a child is about $1,000, Davis said.Most of the money in the program goes toward background checks on potential big brothers or big sisters.And, she said, the organization spends a lot of time checking up on the participants after they get involved.

"Safety's our number-one consideration," Davis said.

Numerous companies, groups and organizations took part in the bowl-a-thon, with some donating sponsorships that allowed kids such as Abigal to bowl for free.In all, Davis expected about 255 people to participate this year.

And by matching those participants with children during the bowl-a-thon, Davis hopes that they'll fall in love with the children and become mentors themselves.

"It's putting Big Brothers-Big Sisters in the minds of hundreds of people," Davis said.

Click here to listen to today's "Augusta Free Press Show" featuring an interview with Vicki Davis.
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It's just whatever you're interested in, the child probably has never done that before, and they would love to learn how to do that," said Vicki Davis, the development director at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge, which serves the Greater Augusta and Greater Lexington areas.

The program serves children ages 6-13 in single-parent homes and in need of an adult mentor.It is hosting its annual Bowl for Kids' Sake Bowl-A-Thon on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 at Wayne Lanes in Waynesboro to raise money for operational expenses - but what is really needed now are adult volunteers to match up with the 27 kids currently on the waiting list.

"Some of them have been waiting a couple of years - mostly boys, just because we do not get enough men, we never have enough men to accommodate the single mom raising children.And we need men to mentor little boys so that the cycle doesn't continue - and they have a positive impact in their life," Davis said in an interview for today's "Augusta Free Press Show."

"They will stay on our waiting list until they're 13 years old, and then they fall off.And a few of our boys - we have a few 11- and 12-year-olds, and in a couple of years, these boys are going to fall off, and we will not be able to serve them," Davis said.

"So it's imperative that if you want that kind of age bracket, where you can go and play basketball with them, or go to the movies, volunteer with us - because they'll roll off of our waiting list, and we won't be able to serve them," Davis said.

A new collaboration for the agency this year will involve Mary Baldwin College and Staunton's Shelburne Middle School, said Vicki Davis, the development director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge.

Click here to listen to today's "Augusta Free Press Show" featuring an interview with Vicki Davis.
...
It's just whatever you're interested in, the child probably has never done that before, and they would love to learn how to do that," said Vicki Davis, the development director at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge, which serves the Greater Augusta and Greater Lexington areas. Read more