Big Brothers Big Sisters, Share a Season and Make a Difference

The holiday season is rolling around again. If it’s not what you want to hear when it’s not even Halloween and you’ve been hearing Christmas carols since the Fourth of July, it does bear thinking about. The holidays are, for some, not so happy and not so merry. Throughout Broward County there are families in need who approach the holidays with anxiety and apprehension, unable to afford presents and in some cases even a holiday meal. Some of you may know about my involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County, and that I hold a position on the Board of Directors. This year we are inviting the good-hearted people of Broward County to share the season with a family in need.

Big Brothers Big Sisters 111 Years of Caring

Big Brothers Big Sisters had its start in the Children’s Court of New York at the turn of the last century. Catholic Big Sisters of New York and Big Brothers befriended girls and boys who came before the court. Caring adults volunteered to mentor these children, in order to help them stay out of trouble and reach their potential. There are now Big Brothers Big Sisters associations in all 50 states and 12 countries worldwide. We make a difference in not only in outcomes, but in lifetimes, with children improving performance in school, becoming more confident, have a better home life, and avoid risky behaviors. We pair caring adults with children facing difficulty and adversity to provide enduring, supportive relationships that support the idea that all children can not only achieve success but grow and thrive. I invite you to take part in this tradition and vision of caring by participating in Share the Season with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County.

How can you help? Aside from volunteering – and we always need more volunteers – there are a number of ways.

• Donating food or gift certificates for holiday meals.
• Adopting a family for the holiday season by providing age-appropriate gifts and clothing.
• Hosting a toy or food drive in your place of business or as part of a holiday block party.
• Making a cash donation to help facilitate the purchase of toys, food, gift cards, or clothing.
• Participate in some of our great fundraisers, like the recent auction at Hard Rock Live.
• Liking our business Facebook page. For every like we receive between October 15 and November 15 we will donate one dollar to BBBS Broward County.

That’s right, one dollar per “like” for something everyone does anyway; hanging out on Facebook. How could we make it any easier?

No matter what you choose to do to support BBBS Broward County, there will be a grateful family and a grateful child having a better holiday season because of your actions. Let’s all start the holiday season off right, remembering how much we have and being generous and showing goodwill towards those who not only don’t have as much, but cannot be said to have enough.