Students gain siblings, friendship

Dec. 9, 2004
By Katie Voelliger
Staff Writer

There are many opportunities to volunteer even while studying in college. One way is with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Quad Cities. They are active with students here at St. Ambrose.

For the past nine years, St. Ambrose has offered a “Bridge program” which students fill in as “Big” Brothers and Sisters for the “Little” Brothers and Sisters.

About 12 to 15 Ambrose students took part in this program during this semester. They are filling in as the temporary  “Bigs.” The “Little” Brothers and Sisters are placed on a waiting list, hoping to get their Big Brother or Sister sometime in the future.  Some volunteered on their own and others are taking it as a service learning class. This program meets one night a week for two hours. It lasts for eight weeks.

“The program is a great opportunity for students to help out in the community with children who don’t have a permanent Big Brother or Big Sister. They are temporary “Bigs” for the semester by doing different activities with their Little Brother or Sister,” coordinator of service learning and justice P.J. Foley said.

He went on to say that the program has activities planned such as going to the library, playing in the park, pizza parties, and taking the “Littles” around campus so they can see what college life is like.

This year there are four interns working with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Katie Drobitsch, Jennifer Freeman, Matt Law and Kara Roberts are all students at St. Ambrose and enjoy being “Bigs”.

“I liked showing my little brother a good time. He made my day every week and I fell like we really became buddies,” Drobitsch said.  “[It was disappointing] seeing that my little brother did not have a lot. His clothes were dirty and his shoes were falling apart.  The greatest thing I got out of it was a new friend.”

She suggested that more Ambrose students should be involved, especially men. This particular time there was only one male “Big” Brother.

“It's a great feeling knowing that [the “little”] depends on you to be there for those eight weeks and that you make a difference in their life,” Freeman said. “You can notice a change in the child between the time we started the program and the time it has ended. One main downfall is that the program is only for eight weeks so you know the child is on a waiting list. A positive is knowing you are making a difference in the child's life. What is two hours of your time when you are helping a child?”

Roberts said she wished the program would have lasted longer and she could have been more than a temporary Big Sister.

“Although he was quiet, we developed a friendship that I will never forget,” Roberts said. “The satisfaction of helping someone younger than me, and maybe even less fortunate, is one of the most rewarding feelings that I have ever had.  I would suggest this program to anyone, as it is a very rewarding experience for both the ‘Littles’ and the ‘Bigs’ and it only takes a small effort to make a big difference in someone's life.”

John Goebel was also an intern but he didn’t work with the “Littles.” Instead, Goebel helped establish a new computer network system in their offices.

CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Jay Justin said some Ambrose students are helping out by mentoring some of the “Littles.” This is another program that involves both St. Ambrose and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The dean of the college of arts and sciences Paul Koch is on the  executive board of directors for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He thinks it is exciting for Ambrose to be involved.

“Since we don’t require community service here at St. Ambrose, the students who participate are developing a lifelong habit on their own. However, at Augustana they require service,” Koch said.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is growing. They are going from 250 matches a couple of years ago to 1000 matches by 2010.

“It’s a goal to double and double again,” chair of the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters John Leinart said. “These goals are based on the Quad City area demographics...the QC base of ‘children in need’ would support our goal. In the National level, they want to grow from 250,000 matches to 1,000,000 matches by 2010.”

Leinart also mentioned that he has a Little Brother himself. His most meaningful experience has been watching his father, who is 80 years old, being a part of the program. His father has a little brother and it gives him “something new and meaningful in his life,” Leinart said.

From all these experiences, a lasting friendship is formed. It doesn’t take much to make a difference in a child’s life.

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