Big Brothers, Sisters Seeking Volunteers

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year will mark the beginning and end of a monthlong cooperative effort to recruit adults into Big Brother/Big Sister programs throughout the Valley to provide strong role models to children from single-parent homes.

The drive, from Sunday to June 15, is sponsored by four local Big Brother/Big Sister agencies--Big Brothers of Greater L.A., Big Sisters of Los Angeles, Jewish Big Brothers and Catholic Big Brothers.

The goal is to find a mentor for every child in Los Angeles who wants one, approximately 1,000 children, said Brad Lemack, chairman of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters committee. The greatest need, he said, is for children in the Valley.

This is the second year the four groups have pooled their recruiting efforts, hoping to reach those who had been thinking about volunteering and giving them an easy way to start.

Lemack, himself a Big Brother, said that involvement in these programs has helped thousands of kids in many ways.

“Kids who have Big Brothers or Big Sisters do better in school, are less likely to have gang involvement, less likely to do drugs,” he said. “But most important is what the kids individually get out of the program. They have an adult role model who is there for them, there to talk, to help with homework.

“And for the volunteers, this keeps them in touch with what’s really important,” he added. “You so often forget that in the course of your life.”

The time the agencies ask volunteers to put in with a child varies among programs, but it is often a minimum of a few hours per month. Lemack said the key is consistency.

“Most people think they have to drop everything and make time for the child,” he said. “It’s not about going to an expensive amusement park. It’s about the child knowing that he or she gets to spend time with you.”

For information on any of the agencies, call (800) 453-KIDS.