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Meet the Match |
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Darren & Malcolm
Matched Since January 2009
Kern County
Darren knows exactly what it takes to be a great Big Brother. He was a Little Brother himself growing up.
"Being surrounded by gangs, violence and bad influences as a kid isn't easy. I owe my Big Brother for who I am today and now it's my turn to give back," says Darren, now a police officer.
Big Brother Darren & Little Brother Malcolm will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary this month. This makes them the first Kern County match to reach this milestone since the program's reopening in late 2008.
Since being matched, Malcolm's mom Gina, has told agency staff that she has seen a huge difference in Malcolm's behavior. He has become more confident in himself, tries new things and is all around more outgoing. Gina can see how much Malcolm looks up to Darren and is so grateful that he now has a positive male role model that he can depend on.
To read more match stories click here
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| Special Thanks to last quarter's donors |
Memory Makers
$25,000 and up
Department of Health and Human Services
Fansler Foundation
Magic Makers
$5,000 - $9,999
Baker Farming Company, LLC
Bennett Family Foundation
Fresno Unified School District
Jim Barsotti
Macy's Foundation
Match Makers
$1,000 - $4,999
American Vintage Thrift, Inc.
Arby's Foundation
AXA-Equitable
Citizens Business Bank
City of Visalia
Eye-Q Vision Care Center
F & T Farms
Jack and Beth Emerian
Jack in the Box Foundation
Pelco
Sierra Endocrine Associates
The Bertha & John Garabedian Foundation
Tulare County - Office of the Auditor/Controller
United Way of Tulare County
Wal-Mart Foundation
White Cap Construction Supply
Friendship Makers
$100 - $999
Ben & Sarah Wright
Ben & Sue Dattola
Brian Yengoyan
California's Great America
Chick-fil-A
Chris & Caroline Wiehl
Chris & Kati Thomson
Chris Comstock
County Center Rotary Community Support Association
CVC Kiwanis
Dedekian, George, Small & Markarian
Dennis & Brooke Frost
Donald Gregory
Douglas Jensen
Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.
Fresno County Federal Credit Union
Gary & Ruth Shaeffer
Harveys Lake Tahoe
Helen Frost
James & Claudia Horn
Jeffrey Simonian
Jim & Mary Kinger
Kyle & Shauna Goodman
Lee Kleim
Leonard & Mary Ruggiero
Margaret Mendoza
Michael & Jeremy Newel
Mineral King Publishing, Inc.
Perko's
Richard & Trish Olsson
Rick Ballantyne
Rodney Thorton
Saima Sajid-Crockett
Santiago & Marie Banuelos
SeaWorld San Diego
Sheryl McConnell
Stoughton Davidson Accountancy Corp.
Terry Hines & Associates
Tom & Callie Bond
Tulare Rotary Club
United Way California Capital Region
United Way of Fresno County
VTP Enterprises - Jack in the Box
William Griffith |
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Waiting for a Big...
Madera County
Jesse has anxiously and patiently been waiting for the right Big Brother to come along to be a fun older friend to him. His mother is a single-parent and Jesse does not have any positive male role models in his life right now. Jesse loves outdoor activities, playing sports like football, soccer and basketball. His favorite movie is Transformers II and he loves to eat peperroni pizza. His dream is to be a famous football player when he grows up.
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Hello !
Happy New Year and Happy National Mentoring Month!
This January we are hard at work spreading the word about the positive impact a caring adult role model can have in a child's life. We hope you will join us! Help recruit more Bigs for our kids who are ready to be matched, thank the person who mentored you on "National Thank Your Mentor Day" on January 21st or join us and other mentoring organizations on January 18th at Eaton Plaza for a family-friendly Mentoring Exploratorium with food, games and activities (contact me at bfrost@bigs.org for more details).
With all of the Mentoring Month activity going on around the office, it would be easy to let our accomplishments in 2009 slip away without recognition. Despite a challenging year, over 350 children were matched with a caring adult. In addition, our revenues were up from the previous year. These crucial extra funds helped us to increase the amount of children served through our Community-Based mentoring program, which is proven to have the strongest long-term impact.
Thank you to our Bigs, Littles, families and donors who helped to make 2009 a successful year. With your continued support, 2010 will be another great year for our agency!
Brooke Frost
Executive Director |
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Holiday Fun!
Over 300 Bigs, Littles and Family Members gathered at Blackbeard's Family Entertainment Center on December 19th to celebrate the Holidays.
Games, rides and crafts were all available to our program participants. A BIG thank you to Pelco who helped to underwrite the cost of the event, Panda Express and Chick-Fil-A for their donation of food and Blackbeard's for their great rates and helpful staff!
Each Little Brother and Sister was able to get one toy from Toys for Tots and one book from First Book after visiting Santa. Pictured above is Big Sister Marissa with her Little Sister Angelina telling Santa what they want for Christmas! |
It's that Time Again...
... and it's coming earlier this year, so don't delay in signing up your team and helping to raise crucial funds that help create lifelong impact for our children. Your team might just be the next Party Pin Winner! Plus you have the chance to win great prizes if you're one of our top fundraisers - vacations, theme park tickets, parties and more!
Fresno - February 20
Visalia - February 27
Hanford - February 28
Bakersfield - March 6
Madera - March 14
For more information or to register your team and begin raising funds, click here. Contact Jessica Ortiz at (559) 268-2447 or jortiz@bigs.org for more details.
Can't bowl but still want to be involved?
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Sign up anyways and do a virtual team - the funds you raise still make a difference
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Donate a raffle prize
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Help us to recruit more teams and players
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Volunteer at the event
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Sell $1 paper Bowling Pins at your place of business to help promote the event and raise funds |
Donor Spotlight
The Scott & Debbie Bell Family
Without the generous support of caring individuals like Scott & Debbie, the life changing impact of our program is not possible. Every year, the Bells provide crucial funds to help Valley children realize their dreams.
The Bells first became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters through Scott's involvement with the Men's 300 Club Gourmet Dinner & Auction. After attending the event, Scott was asked to join the committee and has been an active member for over 20 years. Additionally, Scott chaired the event for 2 years in a row and exceeded fundraising goals each year.
The Bells have also been generous supporters directly to the agency. They have provided program support to help more children have Big Brothers and Big Sisters, helped our families out during the holidays and have contributed to scholarships for High School Bigs and Little Brothers and Sisters going to college.
On behalf of the children served by our agency, thank you to Scott & Debbie for their generosity. |
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A Word From Our Bigs
So tell us.. what is the best outing you and your Little have had together
"Throwing postage wetter tape down the street"
- Big Brother Bill Dattola
"We both love the outdoors so we went to Millerton and spent the day walking the shore, climbing rocks and looking for wildlife (we saw a rabbit)."
-Big Sister Carrie Tharpe
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"Civil War Revisited at Kearney Park. Sam and I got to the park early to snag a seat in the front row to watch the civil war battle recreated. Sam was more concerned that we cover our ears from the loud cannon blasts the correct way, than watching the battle."
-Big Brother Kevin Wray
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"The best outing was actually an 'inning.' We painted letters of her name in funky colors and mounted it to a base to hang on the wall."
-Big Sister Allison Mathis | |
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www.bigs.org
Fresno County Kern County
905 N. Fulton Street 1212 18th Street
Fresno, CA 93728 Bakersfield, CA 93301
(559) 268-2447 (661) 900-1222
Kings County Madera County
124 C. Street 2300 W. Industrial Ave.
Lemoore, CA 93245 Madera, CA 93637
(559) 283-3866 (559) 673-4863
Tulare County
948 N. H Street #2
Tulare, CA 93274
(559) 687-1108 | |
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