BBBS’ Spooktacular BIG Fall Carnival
It was a weekend filled with tasty treats, spooky costumes and exciting carnival games! On Saturday October 28th Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas hosted its annual BIG Fall Carnival. The unBOOlievable event welcomed approximately 300 children, families, and friends to BBBS’ Bennett-Rathgeber Mentoring Center in Rathgeber Village.
Bigs, Littles and staff members embraced the cold morning and made it a day to remember. Matches enjoyed each other’s company as they played carnival-themed games, created craft projects, and ate delectable Halloween candy.
“It is such a joy to hold this event every year,” said Brent Fields, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. “It is great to see matches interacting with one another. Our staff enjoys this chance to spend time with matches as well. Bringing people together is what BBBS is all about, and this event is a great opportunity to do that.”
This year’s carnival featured activities including an inflatable slide, an inflatable wrecking ball game, soccer free throws, a beanbag toss, and jumbo Jenga. Not to mention the yummy treats such as shaved ice, freshly popped popcorn, and delicious chocolate covered fruit snacks donated by Edible Arrangements.
“This was my first year at the Fall Carnival,” said Ana, one of BBBS’s match support specialists. “I learned that kids will do anything for candy! I was able to spend one-on-one time with my matches, which was pretty awesome. That morning I even did a match introduction and the match was able to experience BBBS for the first time at the event. Overall, our Fall Carnival was great and very fun.”
Representatives from Austin’s Fire Department No. 14 and the Austin Police Department’s mounted patrol also took part in the festivities, showing and demonstrating their gear. They even allowed kids to climb to the top of the bright red fire truck and to pet their patrol horses.
Another great feature of this year’s carnival was the “Big Futures Live Forward Resource Fair” that took place inside the mentoring center. The purpose of this event was to connect recent high school graduates and current high school Littles with resources for finishing high school, financial literacy, job training, and higher education.
Littles had the opportunity to check on their BBBS’ scholarships and to speak with representatives from organizations such as Austin Community College, Huston-Tillotson University, Peloton U, Goodwill’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Program, BB&T Bank, American Youth Works, and E4 Youth. There were also helpful promotional materials from St. Edward’s University and The Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Financial Aid Saturdays.
“It was awesome to see Littles and their Bigs really take their time at these booths to talk about the futures our Littles see themselves striving towards,” said Candace Bunkley, BBBS’ scholarship coordinator.
BBBS’ carnival brought together a diverse group of participants: Bigs, Littles and their families, board members, staff members, volunteers, community partners and friends, as well as children from our Rathgeber Village neighbor, Austin Children’s Services.
This event would not have been possible without the generosity and participation of numerous sponsors and volunteers. We offer special thanks to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Intersys Consulting, The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, Edible Arrangements, the Young Men’s Service League, the Austin Police Department, the Austin Fire Department, Bounce Around Austin, MyEventistheBomb, Kind Bars, Hapi Drinks, and General Motors, as well as those who were part of our Live Forward Resource Fair.
See additional Carnival photos in our Flickr album here
See event photo booth photos here
