HoneycrispKringle Weekend Recap

If you follow our Facebook and/or Twitter, you have most likely heard that we have a new Volunteer Recruiter, Katie Allison. We are SO lucky to her her at BBBS! Last weekend she attended the HoneyKrispKringle weekend, and then wrote this wonderful blog entry for you all to enjoy: 

Bellewood Blog EntryOver the weekend, I had the pleasure of running BBBS-NW’s info table at Bellewood Acres’ “Honeycrisp Kringle” event, which doubled as a fundraiser. The folks at Bellewood generously donated 10% of all sales throughout the weekend to BBBS-NW, and we are so grateful for their support. Sporting an official, Bellewood-issued Santa hat, I watched all the work that goes into a real apple farm. And the most exciting part was seeing Jake, one of Bellewood’s managers, working alongside his Little Brother, whom I’ll call Andrew.
Andrew, adorned with festive elf ears, worked like an old hand, stocking cider, moving boxes of apples, and joking with the other workers. When I complimented him, telling him he seemed like a pro, he told me that he’d actually only been to the farm a few times. “I like working out here,” he told me. “I don’t like doing chores at home, but this is fun because nobody’s making me do it.”
Watching Andrew work, happy and relaxed, grinning as his Big Brother clapped him on the shoulder for a job well done, one thought kept running through my head: this is why we do what we do.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays! 

HoneycrispKringle Weekend Dec. 17-18!

Once again, one of our amazing community supporters has decided to donate to BBBS! We are so lucky to have Bellewood Acres dedicate their HoneycrispKringle weekend to supporting mentoring in the community. A special thanks to Bellewood Acres, and 'Big' mentor, Jake Fowler for making this all possible. 

When you visit the gift store and market stand December 17-18, Bellewood Acres will donate 10% of your total sale to benefit BBBS!

During “HoneycrispKringle Weekend” you will also have the opportunity to take part in several fun activities. 

• ·      Make your own Apple Pie, learn the secrets of pie making from the staff
• ·      Apple Bin Train rides with Jack Frost nipping at your nose (weather permitting)
• ·      BBBS Information Table
• ·      Be one of the first to have an exclusive look at the new facility on the Guide Meridian.  Currently under construction, you will get a short tour through the facility to learn about plans for the craft distillery, market stand, bakery, and bistro.  Building opening summer of 2012.
• ·      Apple Cuisine Samples
• ·      Cider Donuts and Hot Spiced Cider

This would be a great weekend for a fun outing- take your Little, your friends, your family, anyone!  A great activity for all ages!

Check out their website:

http://bellewoodapples.com/

Happy Holidays!  We hope to see you in December!  

Crab Bash!

Last Friday some lucky volunteers from Big Brothers Big Sisters got to participate in the Barkley Haggen Crab Bash! Between the Face painting, coloring contest, and sidewalk chalk drawings all the children and volunteers had a blast!

The main attraction however was inside the store doors, where crew member Mike Fortner from the Deadliest Catch TV show was signing autographs and posing for pictures. He brought with him an autographed jacket that the crew wears on the show, which was auctioned off. Proceeds from the auction went to supporting BBBS!

Thank you Haggen for inviting us to help with your event, we had a great time!

Karibou Hair Salon gives BIGS a discount

We are very lucky at Big Brothers Big Sisters to have such amazing supporters, like the Karibou hair salon! They have graciously decided to give a 10% discount to all BIGS, and if you bring in your Little then they get a free haircut! Thank you Karibou!


Visit the Karibou Salon website for more information

School Buddies Program!

Most people know about our community based mentoring program, where you donate your time to a child in need and become a big brother or sister to them. Its a great opportunity to change a child's life, and if you're interested we would love to hear from you! Just contact Colleen Haggerty at (360) 671-6400

But for those of you who would love to donate your time, but are to busy to commit to the program, you're in luck! We have a school-based program, or "School-Buddies" program in which you spend an hour a week with a child, at their school. Its a much smaller time commitment, but you make just as big a difference in a child's life.  

The program is designed to improve youth’s social skills as well as foster academic performance. The volunteer meets with the student on the school campus, once a week during school hours, for a minimum of one school year. They play games, shoot hoops, just hang out or work on homework. We have found that programs that encourage activities with a socio-emotional focus are more likely to have greater academic impact, higher quality and longer duration compared to programs that focus on academic/tutoring activities.


Visit our website for more information!

The Golf Classic was a great success!

Thank you everyone for so much support at our most recent fundraising event, the Golf Classic! For those of you who couldn't make it, here is a little about what the Golf Classic is all about. 

The tournament was held at Avalon Golf Course in Burlington, WA and organized by board member Stan Chronister.  It was the first event that saw dramatic gains under the watch of recent addition Bliss Goldstein CEO. “Every time I heard the clink of a golf ball being hit, I thought ‘there’s one more at-risk kid we can help,’” said Goldstein.  “This amazing turn out says to me that the community wants Big Brothers Big Sisters to succeed and to help these children succeed by giving them their very own personal mentors.”

The Golf Classic is a board driven event, designed to put as little pressure as possible on the staff of BBBS, who are already running lean to stay viable during difficult economic times.  The board has recently felt a resurgence of devotion and dedication to seeing BBBS succeed while other non-profits are struggling.  All board members committed to seeking donations, teams, sponsors, and players which resulted in a net profit increasing 178% increase from last year’s efforts.  “We had wonderful sponsor support from the local community this year, the best turnout we've ever had for golfers, and it made for a very successful day for BBBSNW,” said Stan Chronister, who organized the event.

To see more pictures from the event, visit our Facebook page! 

BBBS serves 300 children throughout Whatcom county annually and matches children whose futures are at risk with the childhood they deserve.  BBBS has the BIG goal of providing a mentor for every child in the community who wants or needs one.  After all, every child needs someone to look up to.

BIG Breakfast

Once again, Big Brothers Big Sisters would like to thank everyone who came out to our BIG Breakfast, and all of our volunteers who helped make it happen. In addition, a big thank you to our event sponsors BP Cherry Point Refinery, our table sponsors- Sanitary Service, and Unity Group for our center pieces. 

“This year our theme is ‘Windows of Opportunity,’ because we know that the window to have a happy, healthy childhood is time limited,” said Bliss Goldstein, CEO at BBBS.  “We are proud to say we provide children whose futures are at risk with the childhood they deserve—before that window closes.”  

Tim and Becki Murphy of Innovative Industrial Contractors were awarded the Big Heart award for being outstanding volunteers. We dont know what we would do without them and all that their family has done to help BBBS throughout the year. 

"On behalf of our Littles, thank you for sharing your big hearts"

[CEO Bliss Goldstein presenting the award to Becki Murphy]

The breakfast seemed to serve as reminder that being a mentor in someones life is an amazing opportunity. Children who are mentored are 85% more likely to graduate from high school and 97% less likely to get in trouble with juvenile authorities.  In addition, we mentor the mentors.  Many volunteer “Bigs” say the same thing: “I get more out of the relationship than my Little.

We were lucky to have such amazing Bigs at the breakfast who shared their stories about being a Big Brother or Sister. One Big and Little pair got up to share a heartwarming story about their special bond, and her Little was kind enough to read a poem she wrote about her Big Sister to all of us. 

Another story that was featured at the breakfast was from Mike Murphy, 

here is a bit about what he wrote about his experience:

“That eventful day when I first met Glenn and his mother at their modest home in south Bellingham is burned into my memory like few other memories in my life, and just recalling it now is making tears roll down my face. The door was opened by a shy little boy wearing his little league uniform and carrying a mitt and baseball (he knew by my bio that I liked baseball as well, and so he was prepared to make an impression!). I could tell he was just as excited as me at the prospect of meeting a new friend that was likely going to become very special."

If you would like to read more testimonials about being a Big, please visit our website and scroll down to the bottom of the page.  

For information on how you can become a Big, please visit our website at www.bbbs-nw.org !