Big Brothers Big Sisters made the national news on April 24, with a great segment on the Today Show! It's seven minutes of heartwarming inspiration, and, for Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers, supporters, staff and friends, it is a great reminder of why we do what we do. Click here to see Matt Lauer and Jenna Bush Hager talk with Big Brother Jeff Elgart and Little Brother Lendell Eaddy of New York about their 20 year match relationship and the impact they have had on each other.

The kids we serve here in central Ohio have great stories, too, and recently three of them were selected to perform at our A Taste of Class for Kids event. All three talented kids demonstrated a strong sense of future and amazing self-confidence. And you don't get that good without setting goals, persevering and practicing...all character traits that our programs help kids develop!

Classical Pianist  Le'ajaa	Singer and Composer  Jesse	Interpretive Dancer  Aubrianna

Here are our three central Ohio performers. Just click on these photos, and you will enjoy four-minute videos of these performers talking with their mentor about the impact our programs are having in their life. 

A Taste of Class for Kids, our second largest annual fundraising event of the year, was held on April 12 and a great time was had by all!  We owe a special round of applause to our Presenting Sponsors, Nationwide Insurance and The Romanoff Group.

Special thanks to Co-chairs Tina and Ron Ambrozy, and Karen Miner-Romanoff and Matthew Romanoff. Our 2014 A Taste of Class for Kids Committee included Erica Brace, Anne Davidson, Mary Beth and Bill Estwanik, Cathy and Craig Marshall, Marcy and Randy Schoedinger, David Teed, Amanda and Joe Vandermark, and Wes Wolfe.

A wonderful dinner, unique talent showcase and very special silent and live auction items were enjoyed by all. Kristyn Hartman of WBNS-10TV served as emcee and Larry Woods reved up the crowd as our auctioneer. Thanks to all!

Bowl for Kids' Sake, our largest annual fundraising event, raised more than $476,000 in February! Our 2014 Bowl for Kids' Sake was presented by KPMG. Platinum sponsors for this huge family-friendly event included ClearChannel Outdoor, Rockbridge, and WNCI 97.9. Gold sponsors included Cardinal Health, Columbus Square Bowling Palace and UBS Financial Services.

A special thanks goes to our #1 fundraising company, Rockbridge, who raised more than $107,000! We also want to thank the companies with the most fundraising teams: Cardinal Health, Champion Real Estate, KPMG, NiSource/Columbia Gas, Sherwin-Williams, and UBS Financial Services.

Co-chairs for this very successful event were Abby Clark, Matt Kramer and Andrew Wehr. We also thank the 2014 Bowl for Kids' Sake committee: John Biemer, Bob Early, Laurie Hendrickson, Dan Hinkel, Bruce Holt, Gail Kelson, Claire Lacey, Michael Mulgrew, Sarah Shear, David Sutherland and Scott Tucker. 

Support for our work comes from throughout central Ohio, and, on behalf of the kids we serve, we thank every organization, business and individual that is committed to giving our kids more opportunity to succeed.

We recently received a "big check" -- $5,000 BIG, to be exact -- from Darden Family Restaurants. Five Darden restaurants in central Ohio joined into this donation: LongHorn Steakhouse, 4950 N. Hamilton Rd., Gahanna; LongHorn Steakhouse, 6035 Blazer Memorial Parkway, Dublin; Olive Garden, 4860 N. Hamilton, Columbus; Red Lobster, Dublin-Granville Rd., Columbus; and Red Lobster, 6091 Sawmill Rd., Dublin. When you are in the area, stop in and thank these five Darden restaurants for helping central Ohio kids -- and don't forget to have a great meal while you're there!

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It's magic, you know... and there was a lot of magic at the Strand Theatre in Delaware County during the first annual Sigma Phi Epsilon "Magic Changing Lives" show benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters in Delaware. The Sig Ep fraternity brothers at Ohio Wesleyan University planned the whole show, which provided $2,200 of essential operating revenue for our Delaware County office. 

The show starred magician and Sig Ep Bill Boaz (pictured in suit and tie in center). Kneeling in front is Little Brother Riley.

The Sig Eps know a lot about the magic of mentoring, since several of the brothers  volunteer as Bigs! Thanks, Sig Ep.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, a United Way member agency, has been matching children with mentors since 1933. One of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the country, we serve thousands of children each year through our Community-based Mentoring program, School-based Mentoring program (including Project Mentor) and mentoring programs at Camp Oty'Okwa in the Hocking Hills. We serve children in Franklin, Delaware, Union, Clark, Madison , Champaign, Ross, Pike, Pickaway, Fayette and Highland counties through our offices in Columbus, Delaware, Marysville, Springfield and Chillicothe plus Camp Oty'Okwa. In addition, our Mentoring Center of Central Ohio is helping increase the quality and quantity of mentoring throughout Ohio. Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, professionally-supported matches between volunteers and children. We provide ongoing evaluation and support which independent studies prove have positive impacts: helping children perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Learn more at bbbscentralohio.org, projectmentorcolumbus.org, campotyokwa.org, amachiohio.org and mentoringcenterco.org.