There are 10 good reasons for being involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, big brother Glenn Seaman told a lunch crowd of about 75 people Friday. In David Letterman style, Seaman went down his list. It started with the benefit of having a new friend. It ended with the reminder that he is really a kid at heart.
Photo by McKibben Jackinsky
Big brother Glenn Seaman, right, his little brother, Donovan Greeley, and Donovan's mother, Kary, attended Friday's Big Brothers Big Sisters luncheon at Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Seaman and Donovan were matched as "big" and "little" two years ago.
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Two years ago, through Big Brothers Big Sisters, Seaman was matched with Donovan Greeley, now 9 years old. Since then, the two have spent an average of one hour a week involved in such activities as watching sports on television, playing catch and fishing.
"You challenge yourself to see what you can do to make (your little) a better person," Seaman said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national youth service program that matches volunteer mentors with youngsters ages 6-14.
"We try to reach out to kids that have the least amount of support, although we firmly believe every child benefits from multiple adult support," said Annette Leeland, vice president of development for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Alaska. "We have children from single-parent families, children with incarcerated parents. We work with foster kids, but we are not exclusive to those groups. We even have kids from two-parent homes. There are no limitations on who is eligible."
Big Brothers Big Sisters spread to Alaska more than 25 years ago, with Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage working as independent agencies and involving neighboring communities, such as Homer. In the two years it has been in Homer, 30 big-little matches have been established.
An Oct. 28 luncheon at Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center was to raise the community's awareness of the program, its benefits and to also help raise important financial resources to keep the program going.
Leeland knows firsthand the importance of having an adult mentor.
"One person really influential to me was my uncle, someone who loved to be in the outdoors," Leeland said. "He showed me the outdoors, showed me nature, gave me such a strong, solid foundation to keep me going when things are tough. When I want to feel special, I look at the trees, at sunsets and I remember him and all he's given me."
In turn, Leeland has been a big sister for seven years. One of her little sisters is now an adult, graduated summa cum laude from Vassar College and recently announced her intent to become a big sister. Leeland's second little sister is a junior in high school.
"It has enriched my life in so many ways," she said. "To really have that bond that's developed is precious to me. It's taught me a lot about myself, kept me young."
Susan Kirn, community coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Homer, sees the program as "a powerful way to become involved in children's lives." She works part-time out of an office in the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies building on Lake Street.
"If you really think back, there's probably been someone in your life that you remember, that encouraged you, gave you inspiration, trusted you, pushed you a little bit more because they knew you could do it," she said. "I'll remember those people forever."
In addition to adults working with youngsters, there also are high school students matched with elementary students. In Homer, 14 such matches exist.
There are numerous avenues for involvement in the program. Besides being a big brother or sister, there are openings on a leadership council that advises, guides and provides leadership to the program locally.
"If people like to be in on the ground floor of planning things, strategizing and doing creative thinking, this is the perfect time to be on the leadership council," Kirn said.
Another way to be involved is to donate items clothes, footwear, hats, purses, blankets, sheets, sleeping bags, etc. by placing them in the red donation bins in the Lakeside Mall and Safeway parking lots. These items are collected and weighed, with Big Brothers Big Sisters receiving an amount based on the weight. The items are then taken to Value Village in Anchorage.
"That's a really great way that friends can help and literally bring money back into the program," Kirn said.
Helping with events, such as the luncheon, is another way to support the program.
Then there are financial donations.
"Our biggest cost is personnel," Leeland said. "That's the thing that is probably the most invisible, the care that goes into getting to know children and volunteers prior to matching, so we can make the most solid matching from the get-go, the coaching and the support provided once the match is made. It's labor intensive."
To know more about the program, stop by the Big Brothers Big Sisters office, call Kirn at 235-8391 or visit the Web at www.bbbs-anchorage.org.
Mckibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
