Volunteering my time as a "Big Sister" through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio (BBBS) program has been an incredibly rewarding experience and giving back to the community in central Ohio is very important to me. BBBS is a ment
oring organization that matches adult volunteers with kids in the community in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.My "Little Sister" and I were matched four years ago when she was in sixth grade in the school-based mentoring program. Through this program, I met with Stephanie once per week during the school year. We got to know each other through the provided activities with our match coordinator and other matches in a classroom setting.
When Stephanie was in eighth grade, she switched schools and the school-based program was not offered at her new school. It was then that we decided to switch to the community-based program. Through this program, I am still Stephanie's mentor, but we now meet outside of school hours.We do lots of different activities together, including homework at Panera, baking cookies, going to the movies and so much more! More importantly, we talk about our current lives, the future and what life is like for us. Getting to know Stephanie has been very impactful on my life and sometimes I think she has changed me more than vise versa!
I also fundraise annually for BBBS through their largest fundraiser of the year, Bowl for Kids' Sake. Participants fundraise leading up to the event, and event day is full of fun and bowling to celebrate our fundraising success! This year will be my fifth year participating.One of the ways I raise funds for Bowl for Kids' Sake is by volunteering at a 50/50 raffle with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Volunteers sell the 50/50 raffle tickets on behalf of the Columbus Blue Jacket Foundation and their participating local organization. This is a fun way to raise money without donating your own dollars, and the funds I raise support two local organizations, win-win!Interested to know what other ways our staff is involved in giving back to the community? Check out our previous blog post on Community Involvement at FrazierHeiby.