Life altering!
I began first as a little, my big sister was fantastic she took me everywhere. I grew with her and she grew with me. After being matched for sometime she moved away to attend university but she would always make time to see me when she came down to visit family. We wrote correspondence and although I was offered a rematch, I wanted to keep her as my only match. When she got married I was involved in the wedding. Afterwards she bought a house and then had a beautiful daughter. We still communicate to this day. Although the method has changed, she is now since divorced and has a second child with my cousin. May I add that neither of us was aware that she was dating my cousin until we saw each other at a family event! I learned a lot from my experience as a little and I value the time we shared.
As a big myself, I was matched with a wonderful little girl. She and I had many good times and were matched for nearly two years until I myself started school. My little and I would still see each other from time to time after our match ended. She even came to visit me at the hospital after the birth of my first child! It was a wonderful experience to have her there!
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Memories
I remember my little sister because she looked so pretty. Happy, round face and full of energy. I also worked as a staff in a summer program where I had many(10-15) matches from the waiting list. I am glad to see that there is an alumini association because I can see myself volunteering again when I retire. My husband was also a big brother and I will encourage him to join the alumni too.
Thank You
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During my time with BBBS I mentored two littles and the last little I had has become part of our family. She is now 31 and lives in Vancouver although she comes to see us often, we are still very close. Even my children think of her as another sibling.
We spend most holidays and special family events together. Saranna has become like another daughter to us and we will always be close. I will never regret becoming involved with BBBS.
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As a child, the greatest influence in my life, was my "Big Brother," Cris.
I struggled to make friends in elementary school, so my mom registered me with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Victoria: they matched me with Cris.
Cris became a very important person in my life and we still keep in touch to this day. It was him that gave me the confidence to become involved in sports and taught me the importance of believing in myself.
In 2000, I graduated from Belmost Senior Secondary School, with honors and earned a 'Top Student Award' in Comparative Civilizations. I graduated with good friends, as a Captain of the Rugby Team and with the respect of my peers.
Since graduation I have been involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters as a guest speaker at their AGM and Annual Dinner and Auction. I have also tutored another "little" in public speaking. I always look forward to volunteering with Big Brothers as it is hard for me to imagine achieving what I have or becoming who I am without them.
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Almost an Empty Nest
I started working in our office in November of 2009. Our office shares space with the Lacombe chapter of BBBS, so I sort of got to see what their employees were doing on a day to day basis. Before that, I had only heard of BBBS in passing.
My husband of 28+ years and I raised three children. Our youngest still lives at home when he isn't at college, so I guess our nest doesn't qualify for completely empty yet.....but it's empty enough for me to start thinking about ways to reach out to my community. When I heard about In-School Mentoring, I knew it was something I'd like to try --- and when Crsytal told me how many kids are waiting for a mentor, and how much difference it can make in those kids' lives to have one, I was sold.
I'm waiting for my match. Did my child safety training last week and had my interview. I am very much looking forward to meeting my new "little" friend!
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