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Jun 12
Love1
End The Big Wait

End the Big Wait

By Fundraising Events

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay aims to take 70 kids off their waiting list this summer and match them with mentors who will change their lives for the better, forever.

Kids in our community are standing still, waiting for a mentor. The End the Big Wait campaign aims to end that wait for 70 kids on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s waiting list and match them with mentors who will defend their potential.

It costs about $1,500 to provide a child with a mentor through BBBS Tampa Bay for one year—covering background checks, fingerprinting, training volunteers, and ongoing support services that are the key to ensuring that each match between a Big and a Little will be successful.

The long-term success of these matches is in our numbers. In 2018:

  • 97% of kids in our program went on to the next grade level
  • 98% had zero involvement with the Department of Juvenile Justice
  • 99% are less likely to be involved with drugs
  • 70% maintained or improved their self-esteem
  • 74% maintained or improved their educational aspirations

Your generous support now empowers kids in our community to realize their potential. Let’s make today the day we end the wait.

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Jun 03
Love0

Introducing: Big Futures

By In The News

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is announcing our newest program to help Littles beyond high school.

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is excited to introduce our newest program: Big Futures. This program will allow us to expand our services to continue helping Littles beyond their high school years. This program will serve Alumni Littles up to age 26 with support and guidance in making educational and career decisions with the goal that they are enrolled, enlisted or employed after high school and earning a living wage by age 26.

Big Futures will help set Alumni Littles up for success by assisting with career planning, enrolling in post-secondary education, assistance with financial aid, developing workplace skills, applying for scholarships, writing resumes, and applying and interviewing for jobs. This will be done in a few practical ways, such as:

  • Goal setting and accountability
  • Directing matches to resources that align with set goals
  • Offering workshops and special events
  • Developing community relationships that result in unique education and career opportunities for Alumni Littles

To apply for the Big Futures program, a Community-Based, Site-Based, or School-to-Work Little must have:

  • Graduated from high school, or
  • Will graduate high school in the Spring, or
  • Is 18 years of age or older

If you are interested in applying for the Big Futures program or your organization would like to partner with us to provide services to our Alumni Littles, please reach out to Dallas Ruffin, 813-769-3618 or DallasR@BBBSTampaBay.org

Jun 01
Love1

Join us for the 3rd Annual G.O.A.T. Beer Fest!

By Fundraising Events

Join us for the 3rd annual G.O.A.T. Beer Fest at Brew Bus Brewing! Grab your friends and join us as we unveil a new limited edition G.O.A.T. beer. All proceeds from the event benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s School-to-Work program.

Purchase your tickets prior to the event and save 25%! Price increases at the door.

Ticket includes one pint at the event, 6-pack G.O.A.T. beer to go, 1 G.O.A.T. branded pint glass, access to pet a goat (a real one)!

Get your tickets at shop.brewbususa.com/event/goatbeer/

 

 

 

Thank you to Florida Blue for their support of the 3rd Annual GOAT Beer Fest! Proceeds from the event benefitted our School-to-Work program, which is a three-way partnership between the local school districts, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, and corporate and community partners to provide one-on-one mentoring in the workplace for high school juniors and seniors to help improve graduation rates

May 16
Love1
Gradation 2019

Congratulations to our 2019 Graduating Littles

By Uncategorized

Each year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay celebrates our Littles who are graduating high school with a graduation ceremony

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay has had an exciting time recently celebrating the high school graduation of Littles in our mentoring programs.

On May 1st, Leto High School had 17 students graduate from our School-to-Work program with Nielsen. The event featured the recently inducted mayor of Oldsmar, Eric Seidel, as the keynote speaker. Littles reminisced about the past year in the program, spoke about their experiences with School-to-Work that they will carry into the future, and awards were presented to those with perfect attendance. Nielsen also provided scholarships to two students, Jessica and Jonathan. Special thanks to Publix for donating a cake for the occasion.

View photos from the Leto and Nielsen graduation here.

On May 14th, we hosted our annual Graduation Ceremony for all graduating Littles, their Bigs and family members, at the Tampa Garden Club. Overall, we had 92 graduating seniors this year. Before the ceremony began, guests enjoyed the photo booth donated by Andrejka Photography. The evening started with a welcome from Jennifer Libby, VP of Programs, and Stephen Koch, President and CEO, followed by a delicious dinner catered by Lynn’s Catering. Bob Conigliaro from Caspers Company was the keynote speaker and shared some sage words of wisdom for the graduates. Gerry Goldhammer represented the BBBS Tampa Bay Scholarship Fund and presented scholarships to four deserving Littles, Delaney, Damion, Nate and Bennie. The Live for 24 Foundation, who raises funds in remembrance of former Big Melissa Vanderhall, presented their scholarship to Little ZaDerricka. Each graduate was honored and recognized with a certificate and special BBBS Tampa Bay branded pen. The evening closed with a presentation from Dallas Ruffin, who announced our newest program, Big Futures, which will help support Littles beyond graduation to help ensure they succeed and meet their future goals. Everyone enjoyed the cake donated by Winn-Dixie.

View photos from the graduation ceremony here.

On May 15th, Middleton High School had 20 students graduate from our School-to-Work program with Moffit Cancer Center. Moffit provided graduation caps and gowns for the Littles to help make the ceremony feel authentic. The program coordinator at Moffit, LaWanda Courtney, spoke about her heartfelt match story with her Little. We had three graduating Littles speak about their experience in the program and how their relationships with the Bigs and all they have learned will carry with them into their futures. Scholarships provided by Valley National Bank were presented to two Littles, Lydia and Francesca.

View photos from the Middleton and Moffit graduation here.

We are so proud of all our graduating Littles and know that they will all go on to do great things in the future. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2019!

May 13
Love1
Battle of the Bass Tournament

Inaugural Battle of the Bass Tournament

By Fundraising Events

The inaugural Battle of the Bass fishing tournament, held on May 11th at the Guy Harvey Camp Mack Resort in Lake Wales, was a success by every measure. The anglers had a great day, weighing in some real lunkers. Eric Conant and Michael Foster won the Big Bass contest with an 8.5-pound hawg. Lamar Farrow and Richie Upchurt won the first-place $6,000 prize with a 5-fish weight of 28.54 pounds. Nearly 40 boats participated in the tournament, and the event raised $11,500 in support of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s mentoring programs. While the fishermen were on the water, more than 30 of our Bigs & Littles got some one-on-one fishing tips from FLW Tour pro Darrell Davis, the event host and co-chairman. The day also included an exhibition from a police dog-in-training, a drawing for a free Power-Pole, and a lot of fun for everyone involved. Special thanks to the tournament co-chair Tammy Curtis and our sponsors, CenterState Bank, Tampa Bay Rays, and StevenDouglas.

View photos from the event here.

Watch the video slideshow here.

See the final Battle of the Bass Tournament Rankings.

Apr 29
Love1

Over the Edge 2019

By Fundraising Events

More than 40 BBBS friends and supporters, including new mayor Jane Castor and TPD Chief Brian Dugan, experienced the thrill of rappelling down 17 stories of the Tampa Hilton Downtown on April 27 as part of this year’s Over the Edge fundraising event. Participants were required to raise a minimum of $1,500 (the cost of supporting one Big/Little match for a year) for their spot on one of the ropes. The event raised $85,000 in support of the BBBS mentoring programs. In addition to Mayor Castor and Chief Dugan, other “Edgers” included the State Attorney Andrew Warren, Tampa Bay Lightning’s ThunderBug, Major Butch Delgado from TPD, four University of Tampa cheerleaders and their coach, and 8-year-old Sawyer St. Clair, our youngest participant to date. A special thanks to sponsors Flowbird, Paradise Ventures, Tampa Bay Club Sports, the law firm of Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, Skanska and AgileThought.

 

View photos from the event here.
Password:  OTE2019 (case sensitive)

Apr 26
Love1

School-to-Work Littles Headed to Nationals for FBLA

By School-to-Work

Littles at Middleton High School placed 4th in the Florida state competition for their STEM fair

 

Littles in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s School-to-Work program from Middleton High School are heading to nationals for their Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) project.

Each year the FBLA must complete a community service project. Previously they lead service days at other local Tampa Bay agencies such as Metropolitan Ministries and Habitat for Humanity. This year, Middleton’s FBLA students chose to host a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fair in honor of Middleton’s STEM magnet program. Since some of the FBLA students participate in the School-to-Work program with BBBS Tampa Bay they chose to host the STEM fair for our matches in the Community-Based program.

“We wanted to share our knowledge and hopefully inspire others to join STEM, because of the amazing benefits it offers, and just hope to spark interest in general,” says Middleton student Nidhi.

The students coordinated each step of the planning for the STEM fair, from creating a flyer to planning the demonstrations. The STEM fair was hosted on February 2nd and the nineteen BBBS Tampa Bay matches who attended extracted DNA from strawberries, learned about what’s inside a computer, and had the opportunity to control a robot built by Middleton students.

Middleton took their STEM fair project to the Florida state competition, where they placed fourth. Their next stop is the national competition in San Antonio, Texas, from June 29th through July 2nd!

Check out more photos from the STEM fair here.

Apr 19
Love1

Annual Match Spring Picnic at Philippe Park

By Uncategorized

Each spring, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay hosts a Match Spring Picnic for Bigs & Littles to spend time together in the great outdoors.

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay hosted their annual Match Spring Picnic at Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. With almost 300 Bigs, Littles and staff in attendance, this was one of our biggest picnics yet!

Matches enjoyed arts and crafts, sports and games, music, dancing and a delicious lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs grilled by our own President & CEO, Stephen Koch, and his Little Jon.

Special thanks to Starbucks for donating coffee and iced tea for our matches to enjoy at the picnic and the Hobbs Foundation for making the annual Match Spring Picnic possible

View all of the photos from the Match Spring Picnic here and here.

Apr 08
Love3

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay Named 2018 Pinnacle Award Winner

By In The News

For the first time in its 54-year history, the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay agency has been named a Pinnacle Award winner for 2018 by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nationwide mentoring organization’s highest honor.

The award, announced by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Nationwide Leadership Council, recognizes the very best local agencies for increasing their revenue and growing their overall number of Big & Little matches year-over-year for two or more consecutive years. In 2018, the Tampa Bay agency served a record 3,014 children, a 5.6 percent increase over 2017.

“This award is the result of a lot of hard, focused and strategic work by our dedicated staff, board and of course, our great volunteer Bigs.  It is also the result of our donors who believe in defending and inspiring the potential of the wonderful youth we are honored to serve through our evidence-based, outcome-oriented 1 to 1 mentoring programs” said Stephen Koch, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.  “We know that there is a lot more work to be done, and we are more committed than ever to continuing to make a positive difference for thousands of additional children and youth who can benefit from having a Big Brother or Big Sister in their young lives.”

BBBS of Tampa Bay was one of only 6 agencies, from nearly 300 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies nationwide, that will be recognized as a Pinnacle Award winner at the national conference of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, being held in late June in Charlotte, N.C.

“We are so proud of the growth that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay has experienced, and we are pleased to recognize that success with the Pinnacle Award,” said Pam Iorio, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “We thank the agency for its tireless work in service of our mission and commitment to serving more children in the Tampa Bay area.”

Big Brothers and Big Sisters are adult volunteers (called “Bigs”) who are matched with children facing adversity (called “Littles”) for professionally-supported one-on-one mentoring. Last year BBBS of Tampa Bay served more than 3,000 children with positive role models throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Citrus, Hernando and Citrus counties.

The impact of the relationships is significant, with 97 percent of children matched for more than a year in 2018 being promoted to the next grade level, and 98 percent avoiding any involvement with the juvenile justice system.

The other Pinnacle Award agencies for 2018 are from Milwaukee, Northeast Iowa, Southern Minnesota, El Dorado County (CA) and Southwest Idaho.

Apr 08
Love1

Big Brothers Big Sisters Partners with Nordstrom Rack to Sponsor Moments of Mentoring

By In The News

In stores nationwide from April 8th – May 13th, customers can purchase Moment cards to celebrate specific moments when mentors make a difference.

 

Every kid has potential. And little moments with a caring adult can help ignite it within them to do big things, whether it’s learning to tie a tie, practicing for an interview or getting help with homework. And you can help. Big Brothers Big Sisters has partnered with Nordstrom Rack to celebrate moments of mentoring. In stores across the United States from April 8th – May 13th, Nordstrom Rack customers can buy $10 Moment cards to celebrate specific moments when mentors make a difference:

  • Practicing for an Interview
  • Helping with Homework
  • Prepping for Graduation
  • Learning to Tie a Tie
  • Training for Tryout

When you sponsor a moment, you give the gift of mentorship. In addition to the $10 Moment donations, customers can also donate $1 at the register with their purchase. $10 Moment donations and $1 donations are also available when making purchases online at NordstromRack.com and Hautelook.com. 100% of your donation will support matching kids with adult mentors so they can realize their potential.

Learn more at www.bbbs.org/nordstromrack.

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