HOUSTON – It’s called “30 men in 30 days.” Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston is putting out the call for more male volunteers to help young men and boys in need of a mentor.
Almost 700 children across Houston are now on the organization’s waitlist and more than 70% are boys.
Organizers said volunteers can help change the lives of so many young people.
“I thought I’d make a big difference in somebody’s life and it turned out that they made a bigger difference in mine,” said Big Brother, Bradley Dennison.
Houstonian Bradley Dennison has been a big brother for almost 20 years. He started volunteering in college and says it has changed his life.
“There were so many things that I was taking for granted. Before I met Reginald my first little and then Timothy and currently with Reggie, that I now appreciate a lot more things,” Dennison said.
One of Dennison’s “little brothers,” Timothy, was just in the sixth grade when they were matched. Dennison says he soon found out that Timothy had a hard time with reading. Dennison helped him with his reading and writing. Timothy excelled and eventually graduated college with an exceptional GPA.
“Our major relationship was with Timothy, we were matched when he was in sixth grade, his grades weren’t so great but I could tell there was really a spark of intelligence there. We gradually worked to get his reading writing up and eventually graduated college with an 8.9 GPA,” said Dennison.
Timothy is now a local teacher and working on his master’s degree.
Big Brothers Big Sisters in Houston is now working to match hundreds of more children with a mentor. The organization has launched the “30 Men in 30 Days” initiative hoping to get more men to volunteer and mentor boys in need.
“You hear that word mentoring, might be a little intimidating but it’s just hanging out. These kids are going through their childhood, and it’s just, it’s really just spending time with somebody,” said Dennison.
Volunteers are asked to spend time with their little brother for a minimum of two times a month. They can do all kinds of activities like go to the park, play sports, or learn new skills. Right now there are more than 500 boys across Houston waiting for a big brother hoping the great men of this city will step up and give back.
“Yeah, come on guys, we can do a better job in this there’s a lot of great kids out there, and we can really make a huge difference in their lives,” said Dennison.
“We need men in this great city to stand up as volunteer mentors and defend the God-given potential of more than 500 boys who have their hands raised on our waitlist right now. This program is an amazing way to make a difference, and the truth is it will change the lives of our volunteers for the better, forever as well,” said Pierce Bush, CEO Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star.
A longtime supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lance McCullers Jr., helped kick off the campaign by sponsoring a Back-to-School haircuts event.
“I believe that confidence can lead to success. With so many odds against our kids, something as simple as a haircut and a new backpack could be the difference between a head held high or low. I want our kids to hold their heads high,” said Houston Astros pitcher, Lance McCullers Jr.
BBBS will be hosting public virtual information sessions, a Big Social, and a Barbershop takeover to help spread awareness.
Visit www.bbbstx.org/30in30 to learn more and sign up.
Groups or organizations interested in helping or getting involved with the 30 Men in 30 Days campaign may contact Carlee Morgan, Director of Recruitment, at cmorgan@bbbstx.org.
The campaign goes on until Sept. 20.