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Volunteering is
a Family Affair
Big Brothers Big Sisters...
March 22, 2012
For seven year old, Ava Bertke and her brother, four year old Ricky
volunteering and giving back to the community has started at an early
age. These two siblings are part of a family match through the
Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
When Jeff and Jennie Bertke of Anna, decided to become volunteer
mentors through the program, Ava and Rickey were all for it. The
family became matched with Little Brother, Phillip Beck, of
Sidney in December of 2009 and have made great strides in forming
a lasting and positive relationship. Phillip Beck is the son of
Clarissa Smith.
Jeff and Jennie, as well as their children, treat Phillip as part of
their family. Phillip is also getting the opportunity to be a
“Big Brother” since he is the youngest child of three in his own
home. Although some activities are done one on one, the family of
five can be spotted all over Ohio exploring and visiting local
attractions, both fun and educational. Many activities take place
in the home of Jeff and Jennie, as well, but the highlight of these
outings is the relationship that is forming and all the memorable
photos that are taken. Each year the family works on a scrap book of
their outings and then it is given to Phillip as a keepsake of the
treasured outings the family has shared.
Ricky and Ava are learning valuable life lessons too. Not only do
they share the attention of their parents with Phillip, but their toys
as well. Jeff and Jenny are busy parents who both work full time
and are active within their community. However, they have made a
commitment to be volunteer mentors, one that will ultimately touch the
life of Phillip forever.
Clarissa reports that she sees so many positive changes in Phillips
life as a result of this match. His behavior and social skills have
improved as a result of the positive role models he has with Jeff &
Jennie and their family.
Jeff says, “I like to see our Little get a chance to be a “big brother”
to our younger children. He is learning responsibility in that
role.” “We are glad to have Phil in our lives, and hope we have a
positive impact on his life like he has made in ours.”
Another very successful match is that of Big Sister Pam Berning of
Anna, and Little Brother Dennis ‘DJ’ Couchot, of Sidney. DJ is
the son of Tanya Couchot of Sidney. Pam and D.J. will soon
celebrate three years of their match relationship in May of this year.
Pam, a secretary for Shelby County Board of DD, working at Shelby Hills
Early Childhood Center is a busy mother of three very active teenager
sons. However, when she heard about the need for more volunteers
mentors for our organization, her busy life didn’t stop her from
stepping up to be a Big Sister. Pam is not only impacting the
life of DJ, she states, “the life lessons my family and I are learning
from our relationship with DJ have been incredible! My family
loves DJ’s sense of humor and watching him interact with our family,
friends, and neighbors.”
Tanya reports that she also likes that they can help him with his
homework and encourage him in his academics. She states that DJ
is “more positive” since being matched with Pam.
While many of the activities are one on one, DJ is not a stranger
to the home environment of three busy teenage boys. DJ Is
included in many of their family activities. Pam and
DJ have enjoyed outings, such as a pool party, high school volley ball
games, and climbing into farm tractors and a combine. A highlight was
attending a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. Dj is not only being
impacted by having a positive role model in his life he is getting to
experience being a part of a family environment.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County is a non-profit
United Way member, social service agency. Lisa Brown is Executive
Director of the agency. The program specializes in matching
children facing adversity with adult volunteer Big Brothers and
Sisters. These adults provide children with positive role modeling, as
well as new educational and social activities. If you would like to
make the difference in the life of a child but are unable to volunteer
at this time, Big Brothers Big Sisters has many other opportunities
throughout the year for others to become involved. Learn more
about our agency by logging onto www.bigbrobigsis-shelbydarke.org
or calling 937-547-9622 or 937-492-7611.
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