Bo Oldeker, left, is hanging out with his mentor, Greg Beecher, right, during his lunch time at school recently. Beecher volunteers his time at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Union County by seeing his “little” for lunch one day a week. Beecher started volunteering last fall. He said he enjoys participating in the program and would continue to volunteer.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Union County is in need of new volunteers.
The organization pairs adults with children in need of positive role models in their lives. Julie Kyte, a Union County program coordinator, said the organization is in need of mentors this year.
“We started out with a big group of volunteers… but when the kids start (leaving the program), that’s when the volunteers say, ‘maybe I’ll take a little break,’” Kyte said. “Sometimes they come back and sometimes they don’t… Regardless why they’re not coming, the need is huge.”
Kyte said she thinks there is a shortage of volunteers because of the lack of time people have now, as everyone is “overworked, overscheduled” and “over-everything.”
She said potential volunteers tend to overthink their responsibilities and they might not realize they can spend as little as one to two hours a week to volunteer.
Kyte said volunteers can participate in community or school mentorship.
A community mentorship would involve engaging with children in the community through various opportunities based on the child’s interests. The school program would have a volunteer come in around a child’s lunch time at school once a week for about an hour.
Greg Beecher, a recruiting and training coordinator with Honda Marysville, is one of the new volunteers in the school program. He’s been volunteering for BBBS of Union County since last fall.
Beecher said he got into volunteering after receiving an email through Honda’s Impact60 program, though he had been curious about joining beforehand. He then contacted Kyte and learned about the need for mentors in the area.
“We have 30 children that can’t be engaged with an adult at lunch time and they need to be,” he said. “Just one 45-minute session a week can make a difference.”
He sees his “little” for 45 minutes one day a week for lunch. He plays with Legos and other games with him to “help him cope with another human being that cares about him.”
Beecher said he feels like he’s making a positive impact in Oldeker’s life. He said his little has personally improved in communicating with people and keeping eye contact.
“There’s a huge need for mentors in the community,” he said. “There are children that are needing good, solid mentors to help them with the basics. It’s probably something I’ll be involved with for the rest of my life.”
Sara Koehl, a Union County BBBS program coordinator, said the organization is flexible with people’s schedules. She said people can volunteer on their time, even during their own lunch breaks while they’re at work.
Koehl said she’s introducing a new method of advertising for new volunteers for the BBBS of Union County: videos and social media engagement.
“Most of those individuals are online, so we’re trying to do everything we can to create content geared toward volunteer recruitment for young professionals,” she said. “A lot of the folks we partner with are young professionals, retired individuals who can have that free time to meet with children.”
BBBS of Union County is actively accepting new volunteers. Those interested in participating are encouraged to contact its office by calling 937-642-0472.