Quality Award

We are delighted to share that we have been recognized as a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) Quality Award Winner. Every year, BBBS agencies are recognized by BBBSA Nationwide Leadership Council, made up of local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency leaders and board members, for excellence in the organization’s signature 1-to-1 youth mentoring program. Out of approximately 230 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country, BBBS of Central Mass & Metrowest is one of 53 organizations to receive this top honor.

Match Story

We are thrilled to welcome new match, Izzy and Amanda, to Big Brothers Big Sisters! Izzy and Amanda were just matched in May and are quickly becoming great friends! Read below for some things Big, Amanda, had to say about her experience so far.

Why did you decide to volunteer as a Big?

I have wanted to become a Big for about ten years, but I was waiting for a time when I felt like I could commit long-term. Previously, I mentored students in a 1:1 in-school reading program for four years which ended abruptly due to Covid. As life stabilized, I wanted to get back to making an impact in my local community, and revisited the idea of BBBS. I felt BBBS was the right mentoring program for me because I figured I could offer perspective and understanding to a Little who might be going through what I did as a kid, and help expose them to new experiences. 

After a lot of careful consideration through the interview process, though I knew this experience could be challenging, it was still a personal goal. So I took the leap to get matched! 

What are you and Izzy's favorite activity to do together thus far?

We start every meet up with cans of seltzer and cookies to share. We play card and board games, look through the Audobon book of North American birds, and do crafts. 

Do you have any fun things planned to do together this summer?

We're planning to visit an aquarium this summer. It's on her summer bucket list! 

Anything else you'd like to share?

I've always felt that you can learn from every person who enters your life, whether they're around for five minutes or five years. This endeavor was meant to have a positive impact on a child, but also to help me learn and grow into myself, too. Spending time with Izzy is impacting me in ways I couldn't imagine until I matched with her. 

Program Highlight

On Saturday July 19th, BBBS hosted our first Community Match Up Day of the year for all Bigs and Littles being matched this month! Littles, their families, and Bigs visited our new office space, where they were greeted by our BBBS team with cool ‘Big’ and ‘Little’ t-shirts, coffee and donuts! After working on surveys, going over guidelines, and completing forms, our Littles and Bigs enjoyed some collaborative activities together. Our 12 new matches wrote letters to their future selves, thinking about what they’d like to tell themselves a year from now. Littles and Bigs got to explore how they would change a year from now, how they felt about their match right now, and wondered how much their relationship would grow! Additionally, matches worked on a Myspace worksheet activity (a throwback for many Bigs!), where they shared their interests, dislikes and self-portraits with each other. Parents/Guardians got the opportunity to chat along with the new matches, talk about outing ideas and what they’d like to do together! For instance, a new match from Community MetroWest, Madison (Little) and Shelby (Big) shared with us enthusiastically that they made plans to attend a tea museum in Boston soon, as they both enjoyed going to museums and now could go with each other! Like Madison and Shelby, many others left the event at 12pm with big smiles, enthusiasm to get started, and with many cool outings planned for Bigs and Littles."

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