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BY CAROL ARNETT

The Big Brothers/ Big Sisters are looking for volunteers, especially in the North County area. President and CEO Becky James-Hatter said that the program is rewarding for all involved.

“There are two core programs,” she said. The community-based program involves the adult volunteer picking up the child from his or her home and spending six to eight hours a month together, seeing them either every week or every other week. The second program is similar, except that the adult goes in to the child’s school and meets with him or her there. In each program, adults are asked to commit for a year.

Adult volunteers receive support from the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters organization is several ways, James-Hatter said. After the application process is complete, the adults receive an hour of one-on-one training.

After the adult is matched with a child, they are assigned a full-time case manager. “We provide wrap-around support,” James-Hatter said. She said the case manager can help in various ways.

The case manager makes sure that the adult and child are visiting on a regular basis and can help the adult with any questions. Also, if the adult notices problems or needs with the child or the child’s family, the case manager can help. “We want the big brothers and big sisters to be a friend and mentor,” James-Hatter said, “not the sole support system. The case manager can take the burden off of the big brother or big sister.”

And what do the big brothers and sisters do with their little brothers and sisters? “Just what regular friends do,” James-Hatter said. “They talk, go out to lunch, walk in the park, watch TV,” she said. “The child learns that someone enjoys spending time with them and cares about them.”

In addition to the two core programs, the organization is launching a program to try to match more children with an incarcerated parent to a big brother or big sister. The program is called Amachi, which is a West African work meaning “who know but what God has brought us through this child.” The organization views this as an opportunity to reach out to children and break the cycle that often exists whereby children of incarcerated parents run into trouble with the law, also.

James-Hatter said that the benefits are very real to the little brothers and sisters. “Their self-esteem goes up, they learn they are not alone, and studies have shown that their grades can go up.” She explained that sometimes the little brothers and sisters need to emotionally engage in school and realize that what they do matters. The big brothers and big sisters can help with this, James-Hatter said.

Children from ages five through 17 can be little brothers and sisters. They become alumni at age 18. “They can still call on us for support,” James-Hatter said. For example, she said, “we have a 19 year-old who need to get back to college after Christmas break, and I’m driving her back.”

Anyone interested in more information about Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, you can visit their website at www.bbbsemo.org or call 314/361-5900.
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