|
Published: 7/31/2012 | Updated: 5/25/2013
By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Kathy Brink says the numbers are kind of misleading, but in a good way. Brink, who is the program director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of West-Central Illinois, is overseeing the organization's annual 100 Mentors in 100 Days campaign. "We're actually shooting for 160 mentors this year," Brink said. "We had 139 sign up last year, and we want to try and push it as high as we can. There are a lot of â littles' who need â bigs.' " The campaign officially kicks off Wednesday and runs through early November. The West-Central Illinois chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters serves Adams, Brown, Cass, Morgan and Schuyler counties. The campaign seeks to recruit men and women from the region to work as mentors with youngsters in need of a role model. "We're looking for those men and women who would like to help young people achieve their full potential," Brink said. Brink said the nonprofit organization is always in need of male mentors. "I'm not sure why that is so," she said. "Maybe it's because men are busier or women are more naturally nurturing ... but we actually serve more girls because we have more female volunteers." Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers have to be in their sophomore year of in high school or older. "Just an hour or two each week, along with the willingness and desire to help a child, can have a positive impact," Brink said. Brink said it is also the goal of the West-Central Illinois chapter to start at least two school programs in the outlying towns. Mendon and Payson are the targeted towns, Brink said "The children we serve are among America's most vulnerable, whether they have one parent, live in households experiencing poverty or have a parent who is incarcerated," said Judy Vredenburgh, the president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, in a news release. "Independent research has told us for some time that Big Brothers Big Sisters improves the odds that children we serve will succeed educationally and socially. This is our first large-scale examination of the long-term benefits, suggesting we have the potential to break cycles too often associated with family and community poverty." Big Brothers Big Sisters is the largest youth mentoring organization in the United States, with close to 400 chapters spread across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. The organization serves about 250,000 children annually. For more information about 100 Mentors in 100 Days or Big Brothers Big Sisters, call the Quincy office at (217) 223-5452 or email Brink at kbrink@bbbswci.org. -- seighinger@whig.com/221-3377
|
