It’s too late to add another team to the contest, but it isn’t too late to support the “Bowl For Kids Sake” fundraiser in other ways this weekend.

The popular fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Island County is in its ninth year, said Peggy Dyer, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Island County.

Bowl For Kids Sake will happen at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 28 at Freeland Lanes.

“It is a chance to bowl and support Big Brothers Big Sisters,” Deyer said.

Various teams made up of coworkers or friends from all over the island have been formed for the friendly competition in Freeland.

First-time team captain Katie Hicks is leading a group of Island County Health Department bowlers into the competition.

“We have already raised $800,” Hicks said. “It’s so important to help a great child service agency like this as a community.”

The health department team has a friendly competition already with the teams from Planned Parenthood.

Now that the competition is on, Hicks can only hope that the bowling abilities of the other teams are as limited as her team’s, she said. There are no good bowlers on her team.

“Not one,” Hicks said with a laugh.

The outcome of the competition doesn’t matter. It’s all about helping local kids.

Big Brothers Big Sisters matches children in one-to-one relationships based on friendship. Matched with caring volunteers, children gain new experiences while having fun.

The agency is always seeking volunteers. As a preventive program, the goal of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to reinforce positive attributes in children helping them to become confident, caring and competent adults within their communities.

A strengthened sense of self worth at home, in school and in the community are often the result. Children who have an older friend tend to be less likely to be swayed by peer pressure, perform better academically and have a more even-tempered attitude.

Dyer said there is a great school-based program on South Whidbey, but there are also other great volunteers on the South End.

One of them is Freeland resident Jim Craft. He said it’s a great way to make a positive impact on a child’s life.

“The thing that motivates me most about it is helping out single parent households,” Craft said. “The parents work twice as hard, because there is only one of them.”

Craft has been a volunteer for eight years and has had three “little brothers.”

“It can be a lifelong friendship,” he said.

To learn more about the organization, go to www.bbbsislandcounty.org.