Big Couples, Big Families little-known mentoring option
Donors and volunteers of Big Brothers Big Sisters consistently provide the resources needed to provide mentoring to children in our community. Whether you attend our events, are a donor, or are a mentor, because of you nearly 1,200 children received the life-changing guidance of a Big last year. This year, we plan to serve 1,250 children. In order to reach that goal, we are encouraging two little-known mentoring opportunities: Big Couples and Big Families.
As for Big Families, parents and their children are matched with a Little. In these matches, Bigs are able to keep the same commitment to their own family activities while introducing their children to a peer they may not have met otherwise. The Big Couple and Big Family mentoring options are exciting for those who want to spend time with their significant other and/or family while positively impacting the life of a local child from our waiting list. Speaking of waiting lists, for several years we’ve said that there are 200 children waiting for a Big. Sometimes I’m asked why this number hasn’t decreased. The answer to that is simple: As soon as a child is matched with a Big and removed from the waiting list, another child takes his place on the list. The pronoun “his” is used purposely because the vast majority of children on the Big Brothers Big Sisters’ waiting list are boys. Most often, Big Couples and Big Families are matched with boys and that’s why these mentoring options are key to meeting our goal of serving 1,250 children in 2015. If you are interested in becoming a Big Couple or a Big Family, please give us a call at 269-382-6800. You can change your life — and a local child’s life — for the better, forever. |
A Big Couple is similar to a traditional match but partners are both matched with a boy who would benefit from the attention of the couple.
