STUDIO CITY, Calif., Sept. 16, 2000 — Kobe Bryant might be known for his moves on the basketball court, but this weekend the 6-foot-7 star scored big off the court, raising thousands of dollars for three L.A. childrens’ organizations at the Kobe Bowl, held at the Sports Center Bowl.
“We started two years ago, and the basic principle was to raise money for kids at risk. We wanted to come up with a different concept. Everyone’s playing golf or basketball and doing things of that nature, and we came up with something different — and it’s bowling,” Bryant says.
Many celebrities were ready to try their hand at bowling. Celeb bowlers included Andy Garcia, Dyan Cannon, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Vince Vaughn, Kirsten Dunst, figure skater Michelle Kwan, pro surfer Kelly Slater, Blink-182, Suzanne Cryer (“Two Guys and a Girl”), Rodney Scott (“Young Americans”) and Brendan Fehr (“Roswell”).
“I dig bowling. It’s a lot of fun to do, so there’s not much better than having fun and helping people out at the same time,” Bryant said.
He added, “Even if I wasn’t playing basketball, it’s something I’d be involved in. I just love kids. I enjoy being around them, and I love helping them out.”
The organizations benefiting from the Kobe Bowl are Hollygrove, the Venice Boys & Girls Club and Unicamp. Hollygrove provides residential care for children ages 5 to 12 who have been removed from the custody of their parents by the court, usually due to abuse or neglect. The Venice Boys & Girls Club provides a safe and positive environment to give youths the opportunity to develop self-esteem, positive values, skills, character and good citizenship. Unicamp is a camping program established to benefit children of low-income families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend summer camp.
So whether you measure it by strikes, spares or slam-dunks, one thing’s for sure: The real winners of this event are definitely the kids.
Dyan Cannon concludes: “They’re going to get money and with money you get things. They also get love. They feel loved, and I think that’s the biggest thing!”
