Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana

(From Doug Proffitt WHAS11) Over the past twenty years, WHAS11 has been working hard to help young people grow up to be great, involved adults in Kentuckiana, by reporting on Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Kentuckiana.

View the video here: http://tinyurl.com/yafzfb6

But as the program has grown, so have the questions from people who are considering turning over their time, to help a young person live their dreams. I get asked one particular question a lot; so as I was walking with the longtime director of Big Brothers Big Sisters, I asked her, “Who pays the bills? Are the volunteers who mentor charged any fees?”


The answer was no. Swinton said that groups all over town donate tickets to BBBS, and recently Kosair Charities gave $1 million, no strings attached, to operate BBBS, now in brand new offices on Gardiner Lane. That local office employs nearly forty people to manage and take care of 2,000 volunteer matches; and they question them often.


The cornerstone of BBBS is the lengthy background check. And to create and support just one match for one year it costs roughly $1,000 so the support of both individuals and community organizations and businesses makes all the difference.


From the children’s artwork decorating the walls, to a playroom for employee’s children, the emphasis here is on the well-being of kids. If you want to help a young person become a great adult, the organization needs your help as a volunteer. The phone number to call is 1-877-588-2300 of you can visit www.400wanted.com.

Children served by the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana program will benefit when University of Louisville football fans donate day-after-Thanksgiving tickets at The Neutral Zone, 117 Blankenbaker Parkway. Tickets to the University of Louisville/Rutgers game can be dropped off at the store between November 17 and November 24. The tickets will be used for an outing by Little Brothers and Little Sisters, and their adult volunteer mentors.

Fans who donate their tickets will also receive a 25 percent discount from The Neutral Zone on the day of their donation. The store sells University of Louisville and University of Kentucky fan merchandise. Representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters will be at the store November 24 to greet and thank ticket donors, and will be featured on WKRD 790 AM as guests on sports-radio host’s Drew Deener’s show airing from 7 a.m. – 10 a.m.

“We’re so thankful for this idea, which will let U of L fans heading out of town Thanksgiving weekend make a great day for local kids in need,” says Kristin Milosevich, partnership development manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana. “And they’ll get a discount to help with their holiday shopping, thanks to the kindness of the people at The Neutral Zone.”

For more information about the event or Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana, please contact Kristin Milosevich at 502.587.0494 or kristin.milosevich@bbbs.org. To learn more about how easy it is to help a child as a Big Brother or Big Sister, please visit www.400Wanted.com

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It's evident at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana (and nationwide) that we have more Big Sisters than Big Brothers - over 60% of the kids on our waiting list are Little Brothers who want to be matched with a Big Brother - and they wait on average 6 months longer than the Little Sisters.

But we also know we have many, many great Big Brothers out there doing their part as wonderful mentors and friends.

<b?So we want to take an "unofficial" poll of all our volunteers to answer the question - how do we reach more men and motivate them to become Big Brothers?

Your ideas, thoughts, suggestions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated, as it will help as match more children (and Little Brothers especially) in 2010!

Check out our discussion board for more topics to respond to as well!