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Little Sister Chelsea and Big Sister Kristen enjoy their time together
during a Big Brothers Big Sisters event at Vandemark Farm in Sidney.
BBBS Vision: All
Children Achieve Success
Mentoring guarantees young people that there is someone who cares about
them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day
challenges, and makes them feel like they matter. Research
confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive
effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and
professional situations. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young
person to personal growth and development, and social and economic
opportunity. Yet one in three young people will grow up without
this critical asset.
At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County, our vision is
for all children to achieve success in life. We are an
organization that positively impacts children’s lives. Through
our mentoring programs, we are able to provide children facing
adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one
relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. By
partnering with parents, guardians, volunteers, and others in the
community we are accountable for each child in our program achieving
higher aspirations, greater confidence, better relationships, avoidance
of risky behaviors, and educational success.
Every year, during the month of January, we thank our mentors who
volunteer their time throughout the year and recognize them during
National Mentoring Month. Without volunteers like our Big Sister
Kristen, our program would not be the success that it is today.
According to Kristen, “I started the Big Brother's Big Sister's program
because I was looking for a way that I could help out the community
that I lived in, while also helping a child experience new
things.” Being the youngest sibling in her family, Kristen wanted
the chance to be able to help a "Little Sister" with advice like her
older sisters were able to give her.
On June 18, 2008, Kristen was matched with Little Sister Chelsea, and
they were both excited that they had a lot of the same interests.
Kristen says she enjoyed spending time and creating memories with
Chelsea, and also enjoyed the fact she was able to give Chelsea
experiences that she may not have had a chance to have without the
program. Through Big Brothers Big Sisters events, they were able to do
different kinds of free activities together as well as make crafts and
bake cookies. “I enjoyed my overall experience with the program,
and I would recommend it to anyone looking to have a mentor role in a
child's life”, says Kristen.
Chelsea was 11 years old when she was matched with Kristen, and as she
grew older and became an adult, their match within our program came to
an end on September 12, 2017. Chelsea says the program itself was
an amazing experience, and her match with Kristen was
perfect. According to Chelsea, “I made a new friend and
have good memories. I'm really glad I signed up because I have
had plenty of good times and they were well spent.” Chelsea feels
that every event they went to together was outstanding and very fun,
and she really enjoyed baking and doing crafts with Kristen.
Chelsea says that Big Brothers Big Sisters is “a great program that
should continue in order to give other children a chance”. She also
stated that her mom recently signed her little sister up for our
program, and she hopes her own sister will have a good experience just
like she did.
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with caring
mentors who help provide individual guidance and support. That is
what we do. If you, or someone you know, are interested in
becoming a Big or Little, please call 937-492-7611, 937-547-9622, or go
to www.bigbrobigsis-shelbydarke.org for more information.
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