Big Brothers Big Sisters Seeking Volunteers

Many of us may be able to recall back to our youth when an older individual said or did something to us that impacted the course of our life in a positive way. The Big Brothers movement was founded more than 100 years ago in New York with the goal of steering young men out of New York City's legal system and courtrooms. Today, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) operates in all 50 states and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Michigan is carrying on that mission for youth in our area. "We work with young people who are at risk. Those risk factors are higher due to poverty, or a single parent household, or they just lack the opportunities and experiences that maybe others do have. Our goal is to help young people stay on the path, to graduate high school and move on with a career of some sort," says Jennifer Spitler, President and CEO of BBBS of Southeast Michigan. "What we know is that having a caring adult in a young person's life can help create a sense of self and belonging that a young person needs to take positive risks; to do that thing that they've never done before like try out for team, try out for student council, to just get involved and engaged more."

BBBS accomplishes this goal through mentorship programs which are either community-based, or site-based. Community-based mentorship involves big brothers or sisters (Bigs) and little brothers or sisters (Littles) meeting several time a month in the community: at a restaurant, a park, museum, or library, to name a few, and spending an hour or two interacting, doing something recreational, and making a connection that builds trust and friendship. Site-based mentorship takes place at schools or at a workplace which partners with BBBS and provides a time and location for Bigs and Littles to meet and talk. "There are a lot of different ways that folks can become volunteers in our program," says Spitler, who has been with the organization for nearly 25 years. She says volunteer Bigs with BBBS's site-based programming allows those volunteers to meet with young people in the school, usually at lunchtime, or if a partnering workplace is the site, Bigs volunteer as a group and can share about their profession, offer career advice, or discuss job hunting tips, all while getting young people thinking about the future and a career choice in a group setting.

BBBS serves youth ages 8 through 18 and seeks to use mentorship to develop self-competence, enhance social-emotional development, build self-confidence that will help reduce risky behaviors, and help young people develop a plan for the future. Spitler says that while the mentoring relationship fostered by BBBS enhances the life of the participating young person, the community as a whole benefits as well. "Our young people, not only are they graduating high school and we're helping them find that career path, but hey become citizens. They become the active and engaged members of our communities. They are our future teachers, firefighters, accountants, they become the ones that are next in line to make the decisions in our communities," she says.

Unfortunately, at this time, Spitler says there are over 200 young people on their waitlist waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister, so enrollment for kids is on pause. "We need volunteers, we need adults. We need Bigs to step up to help support young people in our communities," she says. "The volunteers get so much more out of it than they ever feel like they pour into the kids. It's fun to feel like a kid again, you have an excuse to go to the arcade or the bowling alley because you're taking a 12-year old bowling on a Sunday afternoon. It's just as much fun as it is impactful."

Adult volunteers with BBBS must be 18 years old, have reliable transportation, are asked to commit to at least one year as a Big, and must complete BBBS interview, screening, and training process. For anyone who may be interested in being a Big Brother or Big Sister, BBBS is hosting an informational program called Big Brothers Big Sisters in Action: You Can Empower the Next Generation on Tuesday, January 28 at the Durfee Innovation Society Community Center, located at 2470 Collingwood Street in Detroit. The event will run from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. To register for the event go to https://www.eventbrite.com/d/mi--detroit/events/ and enter Big Brothers Big Sisters in the search box or contact Sherri Kolade at 313-626-5181 or at sherrik@@bbbssoutheastmi.org. To find out more about BBBS of Southeast Michigan, go to https://bbbssoutheastmi.org/.