Some Big Thoughts...

Paul McCartney has a lot in common with Big Brothers Big Sisters

2011-08-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking... There is NO comparison! How can you compare the last remaining Beatle with a social service organization?Allow me to enlighten you...

Unless you've been living under a rock, then you know that Sir Paul himself was here in town playing at Great American Ball Park. I wasn't there myself (Insert jealousy here) but our Vice President of Programs, Jessica Greene, was there and seemed to truly be awestruck by his ability to rock the house. Here's an excerpt straight from Jessica's Facebook page:

"My thoughts on last night's Paul McCartney concert....

1. The Lord has blessed Sir Paul with a set of pipes
2. I hope I'm that Rock'n at 68 years old
3. The drummer looked freakishly like Nick Ruff :)

It was an amazing concert!"

Over the years he has been here (Cincinnati) on tour three times. Once while a Beatle in 1964, On a solo tour in 1993, and yesterday in front of a sold out crowd of 41,500. This is the first thing we have in common. Both he and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County first entered this area in the 1960's. Yes, Paul and the Beatles came and went in 1963 and just 5 short years later Big Brothers Big Sisters began it's work magic in Butler County in 1968. Who would of thought so much goodness came out of the 60's

Okay maybe I'm reaching a little... but here's something else we have in common.

According to some friends of mine who were able to go (insert more jealosy here) and to the wonderful articles on Cincinnati.com, at one point during the concert he held up a ukulele as he explained it was a gift given to him by George Harrison. During the concert he also sang a song entitled "Here Today" which he wrote in 1982 by imagining a conversation that would have had with the late John Lennon. It is clear to me that Paul puts great value on the relationships that he's had throughout his life and has been inspired and improved by those relationships. Mentorship in it's simplest form is really friendship and clearly he understands that whether it is being a mentor or a friend, it's those close relationships that change your soul forever. Big Brothers Big Sisters sees transformational relationships being built every day and although our Bigs and Littles may not be as famous as Mr. McCartney, they have the same amount of heart and knowledge about what friendship really means.

Can you give me some credit for slightly less of a reach? No? Okay here's one more...

Even at an age where people usually transition to more leisurely activities Paul is still going strong and looking fresher and younger than many rock counterparts half his age. He's managed to survive turbulence in his personal AND professional life and he is still standing. Some say this might be his last tour but if I were to venture my guess, he has alot of magic left to give. As one of the oldest mentoring organizations on the planet we know a thing or two about perseverance and getting through the tough times. We know about reinvention and survival. Our program has a boatload of magic still left in the tank and each time we make a great match or hear a heartfelt story from a Big about how this experience has changed their life, we only get stronger.

Okay, so maybe this entire blog post was a reach but I think it's safe to say that both Big Brothers Big Sisters and Paul McCartney have in very different ways touched many lives and each will continue to do so for years and years to come...

Big Brother of the Year on the State House Floor!

2011-05-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Do you know what a VISTA is?

2011-04-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Working in a non-profit has its challenges. Working on tight budgets and tighter staff is the norm in this industry. The saying “doing more with less” must have been coined by someone working at a non-profit. DO NOT work at a non-profit if you are scared of an ever-changing work environment, dislike the idea of learning how to do EVERYTHING, or break out in a cold sweat and rash when someone mentions the word “WORK”. It takes a special person and that’s why we will be highlighting at least one Big Brothers Big Sisters staffer every month. In this installment read some experiences of Ashley Toney, our current AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America). AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded initially as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA members, like Ashley, commit themselves to 1 year of service to a non-profit and we are happy to have her join our cause. Ashley’s current role is serving the Butler County agency’s Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Ohio Initiative. Here is a snippet of her world.

In Ashley’s words…

The Start

My first few weeks of being a Vista were a little slow. The first few days were pretty much online trainings of things I’m not sure I remember, but I passed the test at the end and that’s all that matters, right? I’ve started working on the Angel Tree program that is a list of like 550 kids who have incarcerated parents… Yeah, I said "WOW" too, but overall nothing major has happened. I’m still getting acquainted with the staff and how things work. No one calls me “the Vista Volunteer” like I’m hearing from others, which is great!

ATI Training

When first preparing for the Amachi Training Institute I wasn’t at all excited to go, I didn’t like the idea of spending a day and half in rainy Philadelphia, and did I mention the hour and fifteen minute drive to the airport at 4:30am. So needless to say I wasn’t really up for ATI training, but all of that changed after I arrived to the conference room where training was being held. Upon arriving, I saw two friends I had made a few weeks ago at my AmeriCorps Orientation. I was excited to see Kelly and Andria, but I was especially excited after finding out that we would get to participate on a prison visit. I didn’t know what to expect from the visit, I didn’t have any ideas on how it was going to go I just knew that whatever he said I would remember because I didn’t want Rev. Goode to call on me to demonstrate his speech. (He had already warned that we needed to pay attention)

When we arrived to the prison it felt like something out of the documentary Scared Straight. There were people yelling and doors slamming and just a very strange “you’re going to jail feeling”. It was funny talking to girls in line and one saying, “do you watch the new (Beyond) Scared Straight?” Of course, I started laughing with the group because apparently we were all thinking the same thing. Eventually, all of us were scanned and patted down to go on into the prison. We wandered down halls that seemed to last forever, but separated every few yards because of all the doors. We eventually made it to the pod of women on level C. On the outside of level C, we could see the women through the glass windows and at that moment I began to get nervous; not because I was afraid of the women but because this felt like a situation I remember all too well. I immediately flashed back to thoughts of when I was kid and my grandmother taking me to visit my mother in prison. I remembered the anxious feeling I felt while I waited for the doors to open to be able to finally touch my mother. Then we walked into the pod with all eyes on us, and staring back at those women; I immediately saw the face of God. Rev. Goode began his speech by saying “I am here on behalf of your children because they cannot come here and tell you what they need.” At that moment it felt like it all finally clicked. For more years than I can remember or care to admit I questioned why did God allow me to have the drug addicted mother who was always in and out of jail and rehab facility but at the mentioning of those words, I found peace, because I didn’t become one of those statistics Rev. Goode mentioned, and I could so easily be the daughter of any of those women.

My life story is why the Amachi program means so much to me. I have experienced things that I can share with those women and their children, so they may see there is an alternative, and that the mistakes of the parent do not have to be the curse of a child. I was even able to tell a mother about my experiences and how having a mentor made a difference for me. Another woman asked us to pray for her and her drug addiction. When I heard that, I felt immediately compelled to tell the woman not to give up hope, and that she could overcome her addiction, and that my mother struggled with addiction my whole life and I’m 23 years old. I told her this past November my mother celebrated 1 year of sobriety so it is possible no matter how long you have struggled, but it takes work and dedication. The woman instantly started crying and saying that was the kind of encouragement she needed to hear and signed her children up for a mentor. At the end of the prison visit we were able to get information for at least 100 children, which was amazing.

Soon after we returned for more training in the conference room, but it still wasn’t traditional training(that happened the next day), this was more on how to form a personal relationship with the parent and caregivers of children with incarcerated parents. The biggest things I took from the training is to assure parents and caregivers of two things: First, the child’s safety is our biggest concern and two the mentor is not meant to try replacing the parent.

Day two of training wasn’t so inspiring, it was pretty boring and we spent time learning Rev. Goode’s methods for communicating with the churches in our areas as well as what things to say to spark the interest of preachers. For example many preachers pride themselves on being “community preachers” meaning they help in the community in which they serve. While many serve in the community, few know how many children in their area have a parent incarcerated due to the stigma and shame. One really interesting thing that came from day two was knowing that crime hasn’t grown since the 1970’s its just that the punishments for the crimes being committed have become stronger, which after thinking about it made so much sense, it was like a light bulb went off…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County's first blog post ever!

2011-03-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to "Some Big Thoughts", Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Butler County's new blog! If you're not familiar with Big Brothers Big Sisters we are one of the most impactful youth mentoring organizations on the planet! Our Agency has been serving Butler County in Southwest Ohio since 1968 and our goal is to positively effect the children we serve through one to one mentoring relationships. Although we are part of a great network of agencies under the wonderful leadership of
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; our agency truly has its own unique personality. Our staff is caring and seasoned and for a smaller agency we are very aggressive about helping the community realize its potential. If BBBS of Butler County were a dog, we would definitely be a Chihuahua; small, fearless, kinda yappy, but with the heart and soul of a Timber Wolf. Chihuahuas usually have alot to bark about and that is the case with this agency and blogging sounded like the perfect opportunity to bark...err...tell you about our cool upcoming events and activities. We also had three other notions pulling us towards blogging:

1) Just about anyone can start a blog. There are political blogs, blogs about pets, pets who blog, blogs about video games, relationship blogs; mommy blogs, daddy blogs, and even blogs about blogs!?! The list just keeps on going and no wonder: Creating a blog is easy. So easy, I’m pretty sure even this guy could start his own blog. So if he can start one… why not us?

2) We want you to know our story. Each individual who writes a blogs has a unique story to tell and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County is no different. The people who work here and more importantly the people we come in to contact with daily are truly remarkable. We are embracing the idea that we can share our stories through this blog because we want to do a better job of letting everyone know the great work being done. We want to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly stories about our staff, volunteers, and youth that make up the fabric of our organization and impact our community. Things that will at times warm your heart and at others, make you cringe.

3) We want your feedback! We want to know what you think. How can we be a better agency for you and the community? How can we be a more friendly organization to work with? How can we create a huge door for you to come through and see what we're all about? Communication is not a one way street and the great thing about the age we live in is that it doesn’t have to be. Everyone has a voice and we want you to use yours to talk to us. We care about this community and we cannot do the work we do without all of you. So as we begin this new open journey, we encourage you to respond, debate, laugh, cry and grow with us. Also, in addition to this blog connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, you'll be glad you did!