Bigs of the Year - Betsy and Jeff

​January is National Mentoring Month….and the time when we recognize our Bigs of the Year.  This year’s Big Sister of the year is Betsy McCallister and our Big Brother of the Year is Jeff Arnold.  Betsy and Jeff both have been amazingly consistent Bigs and committed to supported BBBS in ways other than just being great Bigs!
 
Betsy was originally matched with Adrianna in our School program and in 2016 they transitioned to a more traditional Community program.  She became Adrianna’s Big after raising her own 4 children…and they’ve become very close.  Adrianna and Betsy have worked together to help Adrianna find tools for supporting her mental health.  Adrianna has made a lot of progress in regulating her moods.  In the past she would get upset and it would be hard for her to calm down.  With the support of mental health providers, her family and the consistency of her Big Sister’s friendship, Adrianna has learned a lot of tools and she is more empowered to be in control of her emotions.  This has led to less fights at school, less missed school and an overall improvement in her quality of life.
And when Jeff’s Little, David, first enrolled, his mother shared that she really wanted him to be able to experience some positive things in life.  He was diagnosed with ADHD and his mom was worried that he might start making poor choices due to his high energy level.  His mother also shared she was worried that he didn’t have a positive male in his life and really just wanted him to be able to have guy time with someone he can relate to.  And Jeff has been that….they hit it off right away – and through lots of shared activities built a trusting relationship.  And the results are in…his grades are going up and he said that a recent outing with Jeff to the Tree Runner park – a ropes and ziplining course – was the most fun he’d ever had in his life.
 
Two amazing adults taking the time to be the “a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction”.