Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northeastern PA is holding Bowl for Kid’s Sake on April 5th from 12-3:30 p.m. at Kaos Fun Zone in Williamsport. The purpose of the event is to have a fun day raising money to support the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. The day will include food, raffle baskets, and the chance to win an iPad mini. Come out for a fun day of bowling for a great cause.
What exactly does Big Brothers, Big sisters do you ask? The agency empowers youth in the community by providing and supporting one-to-one mentorships. The community members can help by volunteering as mentors or through donations and sponsorship.
“I had heard about the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program in high school through a friend of mine who was involved,” said Tyler Rhone, a “big brother” with the program. “My wife worked in public education, and I saw how powerful the right type of role model could be, so I decided to give back.” Rhone went on to say that he is the father of two boys and a girl and wanted to give another child the same type of positive environment that he had as a kid.
Tara Silva, a “big sister” with the program, also felt called to give back to the community. “I had an amazing support system growing up and wanted to give back. I fell in love with the program. At home, I was surrounded by boys, so I was excited to get a ‘little sister.’ Now I get to do girl things with someone. I wanted to be another adult role model during a girl’s transformative years.” Silva, a mother, did a bit of research and reached out through the website. “I found some information on Facebook and their website, then went through the application process to become a Big. I have a young son who sometimes tags along. It’s a lot of fun.”
According to their website, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northeastern Pennsylvania was founded in 1974 with the goal of providing high-quality mentoring services to the children and families of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Funding for Big Brothers, Big Sisters programs is provided through various United Ways, state or federal grants, private donations and fund-raising efforts, and program development.
The program offers a host of matches that include Community-Based, Site-Based, Site-Based Facilitated, Site-Based Plus, Bigs in Blue, and Beyond School Walls.
Community-Based matches meet in the community to complete match activities together. Match activities are activities that the Big & Little can complete together that will help to develop their match relationship and have a meaningful impact on the Little. Types of activities include doing crafts together, cooking simple meals, or playing sports together while encouraging discussions to learn more about each other. Community-Based matched can also meet on video conferencing platforms.
Site-Based matches only meet at a designated site (e.g., school, workplace, agency-approved video conference platform, or another site) that is observable (in real-time or in review) by Brothers, Big sisters (BBBS). There are a few variations of SB matches:
Site-Based Facility matches only meet at a designated site such as a school, workplace, or another site or within an agency-approved video conferencing platform. A BBBS member is present, and the match interaction is observable and interruptible by BBBS.
Site-based Plus is a hybrid program where matches meet in both community-based and site-based settings.
Bigs in Blue is a one-to-one mentoring program that connects youth with police in communities, building strong, trusting, and lasting relationships. These relationships can help children develop into confident adults and help build stronger bonds between law enforcement and the families they serve. The Bigs in Blue program is unique in that it can be Site-Based or Community-Based.
Beyond School Walls is a workplace partnership program that facilitates one-to-one mentorship in a real-world office setting, including a life skill curriculum for the matches to follow. There are many benefits to this program, including mentorship by a business professional, exposure to new career options, learning workplace skills, and developing self-confidence.
“Lycoming County currently has 44 matches,” said Wala Tillman, program specialist and recruiter, “However, there are over 30 kids waiting for matches, most of whom are boys.”
Ms. Tillman went on to explain that the application can be found on their website. Once the application is submitted, it is followed up with a phone call, during which she or one of her colleagues will give the applicant an overview of the program. Then, the applicant goes through a background check and submits references. To ensure the safety of both Bigs and Littles, the agency monitors the program for its duration.
It was mentioned earlier that male role models are in short supply. According to the BBBS website, more than 70% of children waiting for a Big are boys, but only 3 out of every 10 inquiries to volunteer come from men. Research shows that having the positive influence of a Big Brother makes a real difference in a boy’s life. The program encourages doing all the fun things you love to do already, like seeing movies, playing video games, and going hiking; only now would you get to enjoy it with a child who can truly benefit from it.
By the way, besides making a positive impact on a child’s life, another perk of the program is an agreement with the YMCA for the Big and Little to attend free of charge!
For more information on becoming a Big or to register or to become a sponsor of Bowl for Kid’s Sake, please visit bbbsnepa.com or http://www.bbbsnepa.com/bowl-for-kids-sake-2025/ or call 570-824-8756.
