J.D. Irving, Limited’s (JDI) eleventh Bowl for Kids Sake fundraiser saw $122,000 donated this year for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) in Saint John. J.D. Irving, Limited employees as part of their PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) program have now raised over $1.1 million for BBBS over eleven years.  

“JDI has such a fine team that pulls together for the community, it’s amazing! I think of last year, when they hit a million, and we couldn’t believe that. Now in year eleven we had another awesome year with such innovative ways of raising money” said Deborah Fisher, PALS Coordinator. 

This year’s theme for Bowl for Kids Sake was ‘Star Wars’. 32 teams across JDI got into character and bowled over expectations with creative costumes and innovative team names – team “Han Bowl-O”, team “Living La Vida Yoda” and team “Obi Bowl Konobi” to name a few. “The costumes were awesome!  Everyone got into the spirit of the theme - including many small family members who joined in the fun.” said Fisher. The event took place at the Fairview Bowling Lanes in Saint John.  

JDI employees work hard throughout the year to raise funds for this annual Big Brothers Big Sisters event.. 

“The amount of effort and work the community and employees from JDI put into this event is unbelievable! The spirit, the generosity and the true heart of this organization is a driver of support for our community.” said Laurie Collins, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Saint John. 

“The JDI team goes above and beyond for the services that we provide to so many children from Sussex to St. Stephen. The work that they do is amazing! What would we do without you? We wouldn’t have the number of programs, or the number of children that we are able to lead and impact their lives positively every day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you from all our board members” said Debbie Cooper, Board Chair of BBBS in Saint John. 

“The support of the Irving family is always with us in anything that we want to try to support the  kids. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” said Jeannette LeBlanc Accounting Assistant at JDI.

“The time and effort that Mr. JK Irving personally puts in to so many initiatives that help young people and the community at large is remarkable.” said Chris MacDonald, Director of Government Relations at J.D. Irving, Limited.

Thank you to everyone who donated, participated, and helped to organize this event. Big Brothers Big Sisters does amazing work and we are pleased to support their efforts.

About PALS 

 PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) is an internationally and nationally honoured anti-poverty initiative, founded in 2000 by Mr. J.K. Irving and the Anglophone South School District. Since its inception, PALS has grown to include more than 50 partners and close to 30 schools focused on realizing the potential of young people in the province. To date, the JDI team has invested over 90,000 volunteer hours with PALS.