"Littles" Win Big At Big Casino Night

Big Casino Night, presented by the University of Iowa Community Credit Union and hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa has once again exceeded expectations. The 4th annual event saw roughly 200 in attendance and raised nearly $16,000.

Big Casino Night 2016 recently took place at The Elks Club in Waterloo and featured a delicious dinner, exciting silent auction and raffle and fun casino gaming all to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa and one-to-one mentoring of youth facing adversity in the Cedar Valley.

Among many auction and raffle prizes that attendees had the opportunity to bid on and win, Riddle’s Jewelry donated a tanzanite ring, AMresorts in partnership with Travel Leaders donated a trip to Secrets Vallarta Bay in Puerto Vallarta, the Kansas City Royals donated 4 tickets to a home game, and the Chicago Bears donated an autographed image of the team.

The agency also spotlighted a few of the “Littles” enrolled in the program, who shared their stories at the event. Kiana spoke about why she likes being a Little Sister, sharing “My Big Sister Katie and I make bracelets, play mini golf, and we make dinner together. I love having a Big and I love being a Little. I get to do new and adventurous stuff.” All funding raised at Big Casino Night will be used to match more youth like Kiana with a one-to-one mentor in the Cedar Valley.

A special thank you to all of the generous event sponsors of Big Casino Night which included Presenting Sponsor U of I Community Credit Union, plus Farmers State Bank, Veridian Credit Union, Marco, Inc., Inside The Box Marketing, Riddle’s Jewelry, The Courier and Strategic Imaging. A special thank you to Crossroads Hy-Vee and Kathy Kake’s for supplying dessert and Ladybugs Décor and More for providing decorations for the event.

For more information about how you too can make a difference in a child’s life and become a volunteer or donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa, please visit www.iowabigs.org or contact the office in Black Hawk County at (319) 235-9397 or the office in Bremer County at (319) 352-2813.