I have been working as a case manager with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County since January of 2008. Big Brothers Big Sisters is the only one-to-one mentoring organization in Lorain County. We match volunteers from the community with at-risk youth between the ages of 6 and 18. These children are facing much adversity at home and school (single parent headed households, living in poverty, poor grades and attendance rates, bullied, etc.). Our goal is to reverse this cycle by introducing them to a caring adult friend who supports them, believes in them, and shows them different ways of doing things. They do low to no-cost activities together (go to the park, the library, help them with homework, read a book together, window shop at the mall, go to a sporting event or out to eat – the possibilities are endless). They normally hang out twice a month for a couple of hours. This is a free program to the families we serve.

Big Brothers Big Sisters biggest fundraiser of the year, Bowl for Kids’ Sake is taking place this Saturday at Rebman Recreation in Lorain. This is our signature event/fundraiser that we rely on each year to keep our doors open. I have created a fundraising page that I invite you to check out. Please, do not feel obligated to donate, but if you can contribute, it would mean a lot. ANY contribution amount is appreciated! We still have 83 kids on our waiting-list. Boys have been waiting on average a year and a half to be matched. By contributing to our cause, we will be able to recruit more volunteers to get these waiting kids matched and reduce their wait times. (Even though the event is this weekend, we will be accepting donations until the end of the month. Also, any direct contributions to our agency are tax deductible.)

THANK YOU for taking the time to read this. I love my job, so I couldn’t help but share my passion with you. We live in a world where we are so jaded by watching the news and constantly hearing about all the “bad” in the world. My job allows me to see there is still plenty of good in our world on a daily basis.