Bigs in Blue is a new mentoring program where law enforcement personnel spend one-to-one time mentoring a child at a neighborhood school.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, in collaboration with school districts and local law enforcement agencies, has launched a new mentoring program called Bigs in Blue. Officers/deputies and non-sworn law enforcement personnel spend one-to-one time mentoring a child at a neighborhood school, for one hour a week. In addition to helping a child achieve academic success, the goal is to break down barriers and build trust between communities and law enforcement.
This year, we hosted our Inaugural Bigs in Blue Summit on Thursday, July 19th, featuring an interactive panel discussion that shared best practices for the new mentoring program and discussed the reasons Bigs in Blue can be so effective and impactful. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is encouraged by the initial results of this program at the Tampa Police Department, including stronger relationships and a decrease in juvenile delinquency. The summit was a way for the community to come together to examine the influence this program is having on not only the children in our community but also the law enforcement personnel that volunteer as mentors, and to discuss Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s goal to expand this program throughout our seven-county service area. We believe these mentoring relationships will help change perceptions and bring communities together.
The panel featured experts in education and mentoring, juvenile justice, community leaders, and law enforcement personnel, including Jane Castor, former Chief of Tampa Police Department; Anthony Holloway, Chief of St. Petersburg Police Department; Andrew Warren, State Attorney for the 13th Judicial District; Eli Vazquez, Assistant Chief of the Tampa Police Department; Dr. Riaan van Zyl, Director of the USF School of Social Work; and Tina Young, Executive Director of Project LINK.
Officers in the Bigs in Blue program have been excited to share their stories. They have begun to see the positive impact they are having on kids in the community. Tampa police Detective and Big Brother, Shane Gadoury, said, “When you’re a police officer, a lot of times, you deal with 1 percent of people who are negative. You can get cynical. Ninety-nine percent of our interactions are with that 1 percent. That’s why I want to continue to do this. Being in the neighborhood with the kids, you get to see how good people are.”
Watch the full panel discussion on our Facebook Page.
Thank you to the sponsors of our inaugural Bigs in Blue Summit!
Bank of America
Caspers Company
Fee & Jeffries, P.A.
Julie Weintraub’s Hands Across the Bay
The Marketing Posse
MetLife
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
TECO
Vince Pavese
thanked everyone for their amazing support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay! Each team got the opportunity to meet Mallex and have their picture taken with the Rays star. Everyone was so excited to be able to personally speak with Mallex as he took his time shaking the hands of each person in attendance and even bowled a few frames. The Tampa Bay Rays street team was there to give away prizes such as 20th Anniversary baseballs, t-shirts, cups, and stickers. There was even a special appearance by Raymond, the Tampa Bay Rays mascot!
Littles from our school partners — Northeast High, Clearwater High, and Leto High — met with their Bigs at USAmeriBank, St. Pete-Clearwater Airport, and Nielsen for their final visits of the school year to celebrate their growth and success in our School-to-Work program. At each graduation ceremony, keynote speakers such as the Mayor of Oldsmar, Doug Bevis, and Pinellas County Administrator, Mark S. Woodard, were invited to talk to the Littles about their futures, inspiring the students with words of wisdom and well-wishes. At each graduation, two graduating seniors were awarded scholarships based on essays they had written about their futures and how the School-to-Work program has positively impacted their lives.
During the event, Lavonte David was presented with a thank you gift from our Matches for providing tickets to every Buccaneers home game during the 2017-2018 football season. Lavonte also went Live on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s Facebook page calling for others to support our mission of providing children facing adversity with strong, enduring one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
