Mentoring is a movement with a role for everyone

By Apryl Reeser

Generally, when I meet people and tell them I head the local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency, I get one of two reactions.

“I’ve always thought about being a Big Brother (or Big Sister), but I’m way too busy.”

January is Mentoring Month, spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national partner. The 2009 theme is “Expand Your Universe: Mentor a Child.” The purpose is to encourage mentoring in America.

The good news is ours is a movement with a role for all citizens. There are many ways to support what our movement achieves — results that make a real difference in children’s lives, increasing the chances that they will succeed in school, solve problems without violent behavior and avoid drugs and other illegal activities. In addition to those who get involved as a Big Brother or Big Sister, the movement also includes corporate partners, event volunteers, professional advisors, private donors, board members and others willing to do what they can to provide support. It is a community movement of many diverse people who make it possible for match specialists to provide support to the caring, generous volunteers whose friendships with at-risk children yield those remarkable results.

With growing economic pressures on families and communities across America, the need for all citizens to join the movement is urgent. Children are facing risks that lead to soaring drop out rates, violence and crime; what we achieve — how we improve the odds that children will succeed — is extremely relevant.

With that in mind, Big Brothers Big Sisters, in recognition of National Mentoring Month, is introducing a way to recognize citizens who support the movement to help our children grow up in America, despite whether their role is mentoring or helping children beat the odds and break negative cycles in some other way. We are asking Americans to nominate one or more outstanding individual for Big Brothers Big Sisters’ first Big Citizen of the Year Award. This honor recognizes that helping children make good choices takes family members, teachers, religious leaders, coaches, neighbors and so many others who want to help our children grow up in America. The Big Citizen of the Year Award is a way to illustrate that many people are making a positive difference in the lives of children.

Recently, a generous family learned that the national Big Sister of the Year, Miriam Mills, and her Little Sister, Arleth, dreamed of visiting London and Oxford someday.

“Arleth has always loved all things English, and knows the history of the Kings of England and, especially, all the women of the court,” the donor recalls hearing Miriam say during her Big Sister of the Year acceptance speech. “Arleth is entering 10th grade and wants to go to college at Oxford or New York University. We share a fantasy about visiting England together, hearing the Beefeaters tell their stories and taking the train to Oxford to see the University.”

That very generous family, whose members have supported Big Brothers Big Sisters financially for years, made Miriam and Arleth’s dream a reality with a donation of a trip to London and Oxford. So without actually being a Big Brother or Big Sister, this individual donor is a Big Citizen, supporting the bigger movement and making a difference in Arleth’s life and the lives of so many other children.

So this month, we invite you to join the movement. You can do so by simply recognizing a citizen you know who is helping children grow up in our community. Go to BigBrothersBigSisters.org and give a local unsung hero an opportunity to be recognized nationally. And invite your friends, family members and those on your e-mail lists to vote for him/her. The winner will receive recognition at Big Brothers Big Sisters’ National Conference in Miami and celebrate the honor at a private “Big Celebrity” dinner with professional athletes and actors, philanthropists and business executives who are also members of our movement.

At the same time, while nominating your favorite Big Citizen, you will be able to select from a number of ways that you can do your part to make a difference and encourage others to do what they can as well.

Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors, the “Bigs,” as we call them, are making a remarkable difference in our community.

The Bigs in our network are young college graduates, middle-aged blue collar workers, corporate managers and executives, retirees, athletes, artists — a diverse group of individuals who care about how our children are growing up in our community and throughout America. But this Mentoring Month, we want the nation to know that the movement works not only because of the Bigs, but also because of communities such ours, that support them. To nominate someone for the Big Citizen of the Year Award, go to BigBrothersBigSisters.org.



Apryl Reeser is the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Clinton.

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