BECOME A BIG
MATCH STORIES
Molly and Zy
Zy is a curious and bright 9 year-old who will be in the 4th grade this year. She was referred to Big Brothers Big Sisters by her mother, who hoped to find a Big Sister who could give Zy one-on-one attention and guidance. As a working mom with other children, the time she has to spend with Zy individually is limited. She knew that with a dedicated Big Sister, Zy would learn new ways to improve her performance in school and better manage her ADHD. In March, Zy was matched with Big Sister Molly in the community-based program.
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When thinking about becoming a Big, common thoughts are, “What do I do with my Little?” or, “How do I keep my Little entertained?” For Molly and Zy, it’s the simple things in life like doing crafts together or even just going to the park on a nice day. Molly says, “Every time we are in the car, Zy puts on the song ‘Thunder’ by Imagine Dragons and we have a mini performance with singing and drumming. We love singing together and I love how happy she gets when we do stuff like this!”
Te'onica and Asha had a blast at our Bowl for Kids Sake event. Learn about upcoming events that support our matches on our Events page!
Te'onica and Asha
Meet Big Sister Asha and Little Sister Te’onica. They may have only been matched for 5 months but they feel like they have been friends forever!
Asha and Te’onica like to go to MU women’s basketball games. They can both get pretty excited when their team's killing it. And they both get worked up when they feel there was a bad call or if things just aren’t
going their team's way.
Asha reports that she wanted to be a Big Sister because she left two little brothers back home when she came to Columbia for school. She misses them terribly and was looking for an opportunity to volunteer
with youth in the community. Now she has a Little Sis to add to her sibling group. Asha tells us that Te’onica impacts her life just as much as she hopes to imapact Te'onica's life.
Ahmon and Kristen
Meet Kristen and Ahmon.
Kristen & her Little were just matched a couple of days ago.
Kristen is always on the go and wanted a little brother who could keep up with her energy. (Kristen's older sister is also a Big.)
Moments after being matched, Kristen said:
"I think this may be the best Big/Little pairing ever. Thank you, thank you, I am so pumped!"
This picture is from a time the two coached a basketball team for her sorority!
MEET YOUR MATCH
Becoming a Big is an incredibly rewarding and fun volunteer opportunity, just ask any of the Bigs in our program! To ensure our Littles have the best possible experience in our program we have a few requirements for Bigs.
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A Big must be able to commit at least 1 year to the program, though most matches last longer.
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Initiate contact with your Little on a consistent basis to schedule activities.
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Meet at least twice a month with your Little for at least 12 months.
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Maintain ongoing communication with the Big Brothers Big Sisters staff.