Big Brothers Big Sisters' Summer Fest continues to grow

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region’s third annual Summer Fest drew hundreds of people to Hempfield’s sun-drenched Twin Lakes Park on Sunday.

The festival that was born out of the pandemic to replace a flagging fundraising event for the nonprofit now serves as its biggest fundraiser.

Gabrielle Stewart, the organization’s development and events coordinator, said the festival has been mutually beneficial for the organization, community and — starting this year — some local businesses.

“We used to do the Bowl for Kids fundraiser, but it was losing steam and, when covid hit, there were a lot of indoor restrictions,” Stewart said. “We wanted to do something outside for our kids and for the community.”

Now in its third year, the nonprofit added a vendor area to the event this year. The vendors joined other nonprofits and social-service groups that participated in past events, and the festival featured children’s games, a dog-friendly area, crafts, music and more.

As the festival has grown, so has the interest in the services offered by Big Brothers Big Sisters offers.

“Right now we have about 140 kids on our waiting list,” said programs manager Tammy Dolan, who said the organization is always looking for prospective volunteer mentors.

“We have our community-based volunteers, who take their ‘littles’ out into the community twice a month, and our school-based volunteers who visit their ‘littles’ once a week at school,” Dolan said.

Just more than 100 children are enrolled in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region program.

Half of the program’s budget comes from fundraising, and Summer Fest is the biggest single fundraising event. Online records show the Laurel Region’s fundraising activities brought in nearly $116,000 last year, but the records didn’t break down the fundraising by event.