Are You Game? The RSM Challenge
Are you ready for a smackdown… a rumble… or some trash talk? ‘Cause we have a group that is calling you out – to Bowl for Kids! Though it’ll be a very polite smackdown… because they’re accountants… and they’re really, really nice people.
RSM, the Kingpin sponsor for BBBS’ Bowl for Kids, is forming teams and raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and they want you to join them. RSM’s goal is to fund 25 matches through fundraising for BFK.
The Challenge: Match or beat us (RSM) before April 24th! Companies must formally accept our challenge on the BBBS BFK Facebook Event page by April 1st. Winner gets an office pizza party and Krispy Kreme donuts delivered once a month for the rest of the year! (Working within the confines of gathering mandates.)
RSM’s engagement is being led by Wendy, Naomi and Matthew, all of whom come to the event with different experiences, but who share a passion for helping kids have better lives.
“I grew up in a loving home in California, but my dad passed away when I was in high school,” said Naomi. “My mom became a single parent, and it was hard. I got connected with the Upward Bound program and that was my first experience with a mentoring program. It was that mentorship that influenced my decision to go to college.”
“Fast forward to Austin where I became involved with CASA and mentoring African-American high school girls,” said Naomi. “When I started work at RSM and learned about their partnership with BBBS, it went hand in hand with what I already believed in.”
Wendy has also been involved with kids for many years, spending the first portion of her work life at the school in Mart, Texas, a small community outside Waco. “My heart’s with kids because I’ve always been so involved with them,” said Wendy. “My house was always full of neighborhood kids when my children were growing up. When I moved to Austin, I wanted to find something to be involved in that had to do with kids as well. I was introduced to BBBS when I started at RSM and helped with Bowl for Kids. This year I’m organizing our participation for the whole office.”
The third member of the organizing committee, Matthew, has also had a long-standing interest in helping children. Whether mentoring with his 3 younger brothers, or teaching children how to play golf, he’s always enjoyed working with kids. “It’s a great joy and a privilege to be around kids, to set an example, and to help them,” said Matthew. “RSM’s partnership with BBBS gives me a chance to continue helping young people. It’s just a great opportunity.”
It’s an opportunity all three see as essential to helping the next generation. “In today’s society it’s very easy for kids to ‘fall through the cracks,’” said Wendy. “BBBS exposes kids to new and different experiences and helps guide them in the right direction.”
Exposure to different opportunities and ways of life is an important part of the mentoring experience. “We sometimes take our lifestyles for granted,” said Naomi. “We may take our own kids to a ball game or the circus, but some of the kids BBBS serves may not have had these kinds of experiences. BBBS pairs children with adults who expose them to new things and give them the chance to explore their hopes and dreams and desires.”
RSM has been an important BBBS partner for many years because they believe in, and value, the results BBBS achieves. They not only support the agency financially, but their staff are also involved as mentors. “One of our principal partners, Josh, is a Big Brother,” said Naomi. “BBBS is a great program that allows us to give back.”
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Wendy and the RSM team,” said Naomi. “It’s been an honor to partner with BBBS and to raise money for the agency. With what BBBS does, you can change a life.”
“That is why we extend the Bowl for Kids challenge to other companies,” said Wendy.
“You are in the community, integrate yourself into it,” said Naomi. “Besides, these kids are your next labor force.”
So, there is the challenge. A challenge to help more children achieve greater success in life, and a challenge to help raise the money needed to make it happen. RSM challenges you – as individuals and as companies: Form a virtual team, donate to a team, and accept the challenge of helping to make a child’s life better, forever.
While this year’s event is a virtual one, the chance to make a difference is very real indeed.
