Amplify Your Support for BBBS: Rain & Elissa

Amplify Austin is Almost Here – Your Gift Today Can Change A Child’s Life For the Better, Forever!

Amplify Austin is a 24-hour day of community-wide online giving, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas is excited to be participating again this year!  Funds raised through Amplify will allow us to create more life-changing mentoring relationships for children in Central Texas.

Amplify your impact for children in our community by donating today. Give now!

Rain & Elissa

Big Sister Elissa and her Little Sister Rain have been matched for so long they say they’ve done just about every activity in the Austin area.

At first they went to parks so Rain could ride her bike. Then their outings shifted to going to the mall and doing “cooler” things. Then things changed again to their current pattern of going to dinner and talking for hours. “I’ve seen the relationship evolve from Rain being a little girl to growing into this young woman who is now my peer,” said Elissa.

Rain lives with her grandmother. When she was first matched with Elissa she was very shy and was having trouble with a few classes in school. But just as their outings evolved, so did their relationship and its impact. “Rain became more outgoing and more willing to reach out to me when she had a problem,” said Elissa. “I’ve seen a level of maturity in her that wasn’t there in the early years.”

Being matched has provided Rain with a sense of security that has allowed her to set goals for the future, goals she’s been working towards for several years as her schoolwork has improved. She now plans to attend a junior college in Texas to focus on academics while pursuing her passion, which is studying dance. She then intends to transfer to an out-of-state college to finish her degree.

“Rain always tells me that our match is very important to her,” said Elissa. “She’s grateful and thankful to me for providing the consistency and support that have allowed her to dream and to grow.”

Your contribution makes relationships like this possible, and changes children’s lives for the better, forever. 

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The impacts of our program are great, but the need is even greater. With your help, we can provide more children with the opportunities for success they so richly deserve.

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Finding Joy

Joyful. That’s the word used to describe the match between Big Brother Denver and his Little Brother Juan. What started as an encounter between an adult and a somber, shy child has become a joyful reunion every time the pair get together.

“There was not a lot of excitement in Juan’s life, or a lot for him to look forward to, when we were first matched,” said Denver. “Now, it’s the neatest thing!  When I pick him up his face looks like fireworks going off. He has this radiant smile and he’s so excited about whatever we’re going to do.  And we have a blast.”

The pair feel like they are “a match made in heaven” as their personalities seem to be a perfect fit for one another. Denver has always loved working with kids and claims he is just a big kid himself. “Juan would say I’m funny and silly, with an overall playful personality,” said Denver. “He hasn’t had anyone like that in his life. He lives with his grandmother and doesn’t have any other male role models.”

The two have enjoyed going to movies, playing games at Dave & Buster’s, and road trips. “We go everywhere,” Denver continued. “To places he’s never been. We went to the Alamo and the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and we’ve been to Sea World. He loved that because he’s 9 years old and he’d never been outside of Austin before.”

Denver and Juan have a great time with all of their outings, but it is not all play time. “I get serious when it comes to school and his health,” said Denver. “I’m teaching him lessons about life, about the foods he eats, about taking care of himself, and about the importance of education. I hold him accountable for his homework.”

This accountability has impacted Juan’s success in school. “He loves to build things. He loves Legos, science, dinosaurs,” said Denver. “He’s smart as a whip. He’s doing so well in school. I will sometimes go and have lunch with him at school and I think that actually gives him additional confidence in that environment.”

Having a Big Brother who listens and who provides a consistent presence gives Juan confidence and stability as well. The match came at an important time in Juan’s life when his grandmother became his full-time guardian.

As so often happens with mentoring relationships, the impact is not just one-way. “Being a role model for Juan has made me a better person,” Denver admitted, “because he looks up to me. I probably get much more out of the match than he does.”

Someone else who gets a lot out of the match is Denver’s biological son, Denver Jr., as he and Juan have become good friends. At first, he was a little jealous of the amount of time his father spent with Juan. Denver Jr. was 4 years old when the match began, but now, a couple of years later, he is the one who often asks his dad if they can pick Juan up to go on outings together. “It has been important for my son to learn that people can come from different backgrounds and situations,” said Denver, “but that we all have similar needs and that we can all help one another.”

Juan is enjoying having an adult to spend quality time with.  For Denver the joy comes from knowing he’s giving back.  “During my 30’s I worked a lot,” said Denver, who owns his own real estate business. “But when I turned 40 I did some self-reflecting and realized I was not really giving back. Oh, I’d give some money here or there, but I wasn’t really making an impact.”

A woman at Denver’s church noticed how good he was with children and suggested he volunteer to work with kids. At that moment Denver said the lightbulb went off and he applied to be a Big Brother. That decision has changed Denver’s life.

“I’ve learned that giving back is so rewarding it makes me want to give more,” he said. “Being a Big Brother has helped me so much personally. This is one of the greatest achievements in my life, other than the birth of my own son. It trumps my financial success and my graduation from college because I know I’m making such a difference in Juan’s life and in my own life too.”

Denver also credits the work of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas. “This program is the most important program. There are so many kids who need help. And when they don’t have a role model or a strong relationship with a caring adult they get into trouble,” said Denver. “Providing that one-to-one support is more important than ever because these are difficult times for kids.”

Experiencing joy goes a long way toward helping kids deal with difficult times. Denver and Juan expect to be sharing joyful experiences for a long time to come. “Juan loves me like a dad and I care for him like a son,” said Denver. “It’s just so incredible. I knew the first day we were matched that we would be matched for the rest of my life.”

Look What You Helped Us Achieve in 2017!

2017 was a banner year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas. As we head into 2018, our 47^th year of service in the community, we have just experienced an exceptional year of fundraising success, exposure, and support for the agency, along with the honor of having won a number of important awards. Most important, however is the growth we achieved in the number of children served – a terrific 5% increase over the previous year, which amounts to almost 1,000 kids and families served, about 300 new matches made, and approximately 60,000 hours of volunteer service given by Bigs.

“Our focus has always been on serving a lot of kids, really well,” said Brent Fields, CEO of BBBS. “We always want to maintain our emphasis on building quality mentoring relationships, while at the same time striving to help more and more kids get that one-to-one one mentoring support that can change their lives forever. We were able to achieve the success we experienced in 2017 because of our incredible volunteers, families, staff, donors, board members, community partners and other BBBS supporters.”

In addition to growing the total number of children served in 2017, BBBS launched several new initiatives designed to expand the organization’s impact and reach. A Bigs in Blue program was launched in partnership with the Austin Police Department. Bigs in Blue is a national initiative aimed at recruiting law enforcement personnel to serve as mentors to youth in their communities.

BBBS also initiated a Big Futures program that offers matches the opportunity to continue their relationships with one another, and with BBBS, beyond high school graduation. This new program provides on-going support to Bigs and Littles, helps them fully utilize the current Scholarship Program, and offers resources and guidance regarding post-secondary education and career readiness.

BBBS’ Promising Futures Scholarship Program is beginning it’s 32^nd year of awarding scholarships to Littles in our program. In 2017 BBBS promised $445,250 in new college scholarships to graduating Littles.

“We are also using our new mentoring center to bring people together in new ways. We offer monthly Youth Activity Center (YAC) nights for our matches that allow them to come together to enjoy games, events and quality time together. We hold a big Fall carnival for matches on site, and we host numerous community meetings and gatherings in our mentoring center, strengthening our relationships and partnerships within the community.”

BBBS has also worked hard to maintain its strong financial status. In a new building that costs twice as much to operate as the old one, the agency came in under budget on expenses in 2017. BBBS’ Board of Directors gave and raised about $275,000 for the agency, which accounted for about 14% of the agency’s total budget. The agency also raised almost $200,000 more in funds over the previous year via special events such as Ice Ball and Bowl for Kids. The Ice Ball Gala alone achieved an unprecedented $670,000 in funds raised.

Helping more kids, launching new initiatives, utilizing our space for community events, engagement and benefit, and increasing overall revenue resulted in the agency receiving numerous awards in 2017. The agency received Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s (BBBSA) National Gold Standard Award, BBBSA’s National Board of the Year Award, was a BBBSA National Agency of the Year award finalist, was selected as an Austin Business Journal Best Place to Work, received a 3-star energy rating, and our CEO, Brent Fields, received the Austin Business Journal’s Non-Profit CEO of the Year award.

So, what will 2018 bring?

“We are excited about the future. We have an engaged, mission-driven team in place,” said Brent. “We also have a beautiful new space that can handle more staff and offer more resources and support to our matches and to the community as a whole. We are ready to move up to the next level. Now we need to achieve an even greater level of financial support in order to move the 600 kids who are waiting into the life-changing, one-to-one mentoring relationships they need and deserve. Quite simply, we want to continue to serve more kids. Our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity lies in finding the resources to do so.”

As we look to the new year, we deeply appreciate your ongoing support, participation, and engagement. Thank you for all that you have helped us achieve, for all the children, families and volunteers whose lives we have been able to affect, and for all of the great things that we will continue to do together to help children and families in our community moving forward.

Together we can do great things. We already have. And there is still much great work to do.

Corporate Matching Gifts: An Easy Way to Double Your Impact

Thinking about supporting the great work of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas? Or are you already participating? If so, you may be able to double your impact with one simple step – finding out if the company you work for matches donations to nonprofits. Many do. It’s an easy way to instantly double your contribution.

“It’s a gift that frequently goes unclaimed,” said Lauren Portley, BBBS Vice President of Development. “Often employees don’t realize their company will match their contribution to a nonprofit dollar for dollar. Regardless of whether you are a potential donor or a current donor, check with your Human Resources department and find out your company’s policy. It can make a huge difference to your nonprofit of choice.”

An employee matching gifts program is a win-win for all involved. “As an employee, it makes me feel empowered to be able to leverage my money, to double it,” said Thessaly Startzell, Counsel and Board Liaison of Dell Corporate Legal, Dell Inc., and a member of BBBS’ Foundation Board of Directors.  “Which is great! For me, it’s helping the nonprofit I care most about, which is empowering.”

It’s also a way for employers to demonstrate support for their employees. “If you’re an employer, it’s a great way to build morale,” said Thessaly. “It shows employees that you care about what they care about. Plus, it’s a simple process to put in place.”

This type of program also adds to the local community. “It strengthens the community where your employees live and work,” Thessaly continued, “which, from a Dell perspective is huge, because this (the Round Rock/Austin corridor) is one of the company’s largest communities.”

Contact your Human Resources group to find out how to set up a matching gifts program, and check to see if there are other ways your company can help within the community. An additional way that Dell Inc. contributes is through a Volunteer Reward Card program that makes donations based on employee volunteer hours.

“You simply enter your volunteer hours and if you have at least 10 hours of volunteer work in a quarter, Dell will contribute $150 to the nonprofit of your choice,” said Thessaly. “I can volunteer at 5 different nonprofits, but the money goes to the one nonprofit I select. And it doesn’t have to be the one where I volunteered. If you’re a Dell employee and you’re a Big or someone who’s interested in BBBS – that volunteer service could amount to a $600 donation to BBBS in a given year.”

Whether it’s a matching gifts program or a volunteer matching program, find out how your company supports nonprofits in the community, and see how you can take advantage of these opportunities to increase your impact for the causes you care about.