By Gabriella Fox with Sonya Bernard-Hollins (headline photo by Community Voices)
BATTLE CREEK (MICH.)-When Min. Elroy Morris was 12 years old, his single-parent mother knew she needed some male intervention in his life.
“My mother told me she couldn’t help me become a man, so she signed me up for a Big Brother through the Big Brother, Big Sister program,” Morris recalled. “I had that mentor until I was 16, and he ‘dropped’ me and started mentoring a younger kid.”
Morris said he enjoyed the time he spent with his Big Brother, and wished the relationship could have continued. Now that his own children are grown, he has decided to give back to the program as a Big Brother.
“I take my Little Brother to play basketball, and talk to him about life and the importance of believing in himself when nobody else does. I want to teach him to play chess, because that game is an example of life, and how you always need to plan ‘your moves,'” Morris said.
More importantly, Morris has committed to be in his Little Brothers life, for life.
Mentors like Morris will be honored during a Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring “Everyday Heroes,” event. The event in conjunction with Shiny Brite Car Wash & Detail Center, will honor celebrate volunteers through the agency. The public is invited to attend the event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at Shiny Brite Car Wash, 8086 Portage Road, Portage, Mich.
There will be a festive atmosphere where current and former Bigs and Littles, and the general public, will gather to learn about and honor the special people in our community who give of their time to guide children just by being a friend.
Activities for children will include a bounce house, a dunk tank and children’s games. There will be food for purchase including hot dogs and smoothies from All Stirred Up. Special opportunities for sharing one’s personal story relating to mentoring will be available at the celebration.
According to Cindy Schrauben, communications manager of the organization, “Children who are matched with a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters are proven to be more likely to achieve in school, avoid risky and delinquent behaviors, and have higher self-confidence and aspirations.”
Schrauben said the agency served approximately 1,250 children in 2011, and are committed to continue the growth of their organization which serves children ages 5 to 17.
Each mentor is expected to have a one year commitment to their “little” to maintain a stable relationship. Mentors come in the form of community-based, school-based, or site-based mentors.
While Morris is a good example of a male, giving back through mentoring, the agency is in need for more men, and more men of color to satisfy the need of the many young men on the waiting list for a Big Brother.
Morris said taking a few hours out of his week to be there for a young man, is something that was done for him. He feels more men, particularly in the church, should take time out to be a Big Brother.
“My Little Brother said he wanted to be a zookeeper,” said Morris who is a licensed minister at Emmanuel Temple International Church in Battle Creek. “I told him we will check into seeing about volunteering at the zoo to see if that’s something he wants to do. Just being there to help boys find there way is important.”
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
For more than 100 years Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”).
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing support and evaluation which is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring serves more than 1,400 children annually in Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren Counties. Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate or volunteer at www.bbbsmi.org.
For more information regarding the event call 269-382-6800 ext. 140.
