Big Hearts, Big Minds, Big Love: Help a South Sound Child Today

Wanted: South Sound adult mentors.

Qualifications: A warm, caring heart, listening skills, consistency, and a desire to help South Sound kids.

Does this sound like you? Then look no further than the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Puget Sound mentoring program right here in Pierce County. This fine, long established donor supported mentoring program is seeking volunteers for their one-to-one Community and School-based programs. The School-based volunteers (all volunteers are nicknamed “Bigs” by the way!) meet with their “Littles” at their school to play games, do homework, make crafts, or just chat. Community-based volunteers meet with their Little two to four times a month to do fun activities like catching a movie, shooting hoops, playing video games, or visiting the zoo or a museum. By donating your time and care, you can serve as a role model and lend a listening ear to a child who could benefit from additional and positive adult interaction. The best part is that it needn’t be costly. Low cost or free activities are encouraged and due to the generosity of our fine community donors, there are many event tickets and activities that are provided for the Bigs to utilize! Plus, seeing a child smile and making them feel special is such a gift.

So, clearly you can see what’s in it for the Bigs. How about the Littles?

Children in the Community-based mentoring program are kids who could greatly benefit from additional adult guidance. Boys and girls are referred to the program for many reasons, and many children come from homes where quality adult attention is limited by single-parenthood, many siblings or transitional housing, including foster care. Whatever the circumstances, Big Brothers, Big Sisters research points to the facts that Littles who have a Big in their life tend to do better in school, find positive and productive ways to problem solve, learn trust, and resist substance abuse and other issues that children face today.

It gets better. When I was contacted by the lovely folks at Big Brothers, Big Sisters, I had the opportunity to peruse their website. The site is thorough and answers all your questions about how to get involved. Step by step guides and FAQs make it easy to get started. And be sure to read the stories about some real Big and Little relationships. It will pull at your heartstrings and inspire you beyond measure. Now even though I’ve added clickable links to their website above, I’ll make it even easier. Just click HERE South Sounders. Click TODAY and take a look. On behalf of the organization and all the great kids out there, I thank you.

And a BIG thank you to all the Bigs (and Littles!) out there! Your stories and paths inspire me and I am certain, they will inspire others.