It was the very beginning of spring semester 2011, so either January or February. A career fair was happening over a two-day period at the newly finished convention center, and my English teacher was offering extra credit for going. Naturally, I decided to stop by. I planned to just grab a handout to prove that I was there, and maybe walk around for a few minutes, but I ended up doing something there that really changed my life.
All throughout my life, I had been actively involved in volunteer work and community service. When I was little, I mostly tagged along with my mom to various volunteer projects she was doing. As I got older, I started my own volunteering, and as I teen, my main volunteer job was being an aide in my temple's religious school. For five years in middle and high school, I came almost every Sunday during the school year and worked for two and a half hours. I was in the kindergarten for three years and the third grade for two. However, after I graduated from high school and went away to college, I wasn't involved in volunteer work like I had been all my life.
I was moseying through the fair, glancing at each booth, when one caught my eye: Big Brothers Big Sisters. I had heard of the organization before; I passed a BBBS clothing donation center every day on my drive to and from school. I never gave it much thought, though, because volunteers with this organization have to be at least eighteen. When I saw the BBBS booth at the career fair, it occurred to me that, at nineteen, I was eligible to be a Big in the program. I also realized that I wasn't doing much volunteer work at all anymore. I approached the table and stayed for awhile, learning more about the organization. Before leaving, I signed up to be a volunteer.
The interview and matching process was pretty lengthy. I heard somewhere that the organization spends $500 making each match, which includes interviews with parents, children, and prospective volunteers, and extensive background checks. (I don't know if that figure is accurate, but they are definitely very thorough.) I was interviewed about myself, my past experiences, and my interests to help the match specialist find a kid who would be compatible. I was also fingerprinted (each finger on both hands!) and background checked. Within a few months, I was informed that I passed the background check (shocker) and was going to be accepted as a volunteer. At that point, I was eligible to be matched with a child.
It was several weeks or maybe even over a month before I was matched. I remember the moment very well. I was at the dining hall eating dinner with friends and saw that I had a missed call from BBBS. I got up from the table and returned the call. The voice on the other end told me I was going to be matched with a six-year-old boy named David, and how soon could I meet him. I was so excited! Unfortunately, the end of the semester was quickly approaching, and I would be living at home three hours away for summer break. As much as I wanted to meet my new Little Brother right away, the BBBS staff and I both knew it was in David's best interest not to meet me once and then not see me again for three months.
After a whole summer of anticipation, I finally met David the week I returned to school in August. It was a Friday afternoon, and I got to the office before David and his mom. I was sitting in the main room waiting when in came a little boy. It had been over three months since I found out that I was going to be David's Big Sister, and in that time I had formed a picture of what he would look and act like. He was totally different. We were put in a room together to chat and get to know each other, and he hovered over the little toys he had brought, explaining them to me in such a soft voice, and rarely making eye contact. I had been told that David and I would be a great match because we are both high energy people, so I was confused and a little concerned by this behavior. Nonetheless, David, his mom, the match specialist, and I all signed a lot of paperwork that day, and with that, the match was officially in effect until the following August, when we would reassess and have the option to renew for another year.
I am amazed at how far we have come from that day. I now realize that David was behaving like any typical six-year-old would when put in a room with a total stranger for fifteen minutes. He is now seven, and we are much more comfortable talking to each other and being together. For over six months now, excluding the five or so weeks I was home for winter break, I have spent time with David consistently. We usually spend 2-4 hours together each week. We have done so many different activities together, including cooking, swimming, Zumba, going to the pumpkin patch/corn maze, and attending a September 11 memorial event. Recently, I took David on his first ever hike. It was a little over a mile each way, and we had lunch at the waterfall at the halfway point. On the way back to the car, he told me it was the best day of his life. I have tried, especially lately, to encourage our meetings to include activities David has never done before. I tell him he can go swimming anytime, but he might only get to go hiking with me.
It's pretty cool how big of an impact a small amount of time can have, and I think we have both benefited. I have gained experience interacting with a child, and I get to do activities that I would never do at my age if I wasn't with David. David is learning new skills and trying new activities, and he has an additional adult in his life who cares about him. It has been an almost exclusively positive experience for me, and I hope to continue to be matched with David for the next two and a half years I have left of college. This weekend we are going mini golfing- another new activity for David!
