Big Brothers Big Sisters needs volunteers. In an effort to find them, the agency has launched a new campaign focusing on the fun aspect of serving as a Big Brother or Big Sister, a press release announced. Billboards near the intersections of Dixie and 8th St. in Odessa and South Big Spring and Florida in Midland promoting the lighter side of volunteering will be supported by an extensive social media campaign on the theme “Bigs are a Blast.”
“Bigs are a Blast is an effort to relay that volunteering isn’t drudgery or difficult,” said Executive Director Kay Crites in the release. “It’s actually enjoyable for both the Big Brother or Big Sister and their Little Brother or Sister.”
The agency hopes the campaign will encourage people to volunteer, as the need is acute. “We’ve always struggled with finding enough volunteers,” said Crites, “but the pandemic took that to an entirely new level. Everyone spent two years focusing on isolation. Now, Big Brothers Big Sisters is finding it difficult to reverse that trend. Children desperately need the support of a positive adult voice in their lives, but without volunteers, that can’t happen.
“Mentoring, at its core, 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,” said Crites. “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.”
While this sounds serious, achieving these results doesn’t have to be. As one of the Bigs are a Blast messages says, “Sometimes Adulting is Required; When You Become a Big, KIDding is encouraged.”
Volunteers in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program are matched with a specific child and asked to meet with that child two to four times a month. “By just hanging out and having fun, volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters support the critical social and emotional development needed to build resilience and promote the mental health and wellbeing of children in Odessa and Midland,” Crites said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides mentors for children in Midland and Ector counties and strives to ensure that all children achieve their full potential by matching them with a caring mentor. For more information about enrolling a child or volunteering as a mentor, call (432) 687-0195 or go to bbbspermianbasin.org/volunteer.
