Bigs in Blue/Bigs with Badges Archives - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay

May 13

Ocala Police Department Chief Balken Matched With Little Brother Michael in Marion County

By bbbs Bigs in Blue/Bigs with Badges, Match Stories, School-to-Work

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Marion County held our official launch last Saturday, May 6, 2022, and we are seeking volunteers in the community to mentor deserving kids here.

Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken recently began mentoring Michael through our organization’s Bigs in Blue/Bigs with Badges program and was the first member of the Ocala Police Department to be matched with a Little Brother.

Marion County has about 30 area youth that are waiting to be matched with a positive role model. Can you help fill that gap? As the recent Ocala Gazette article points out, a college degree is not required and you don’t have to be a community celebrity or high-ranking person. We’re seeking people that have some time to spend with a child and make a difference in their future by defending their potential. As our Marion County program coordinator shared, “We are looking to make a Big impact here in the lives of our families and the lives of our youth. The main thing I want the community to know is that we have kids waiting for a mentor. ” Marion County is part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, one of 267 agencies across the United States belonging to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization, which was founded in 1904.

Join an upcoming Virtual Big Orientation & Training (VBOT) and see how simple mentoring can be with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. Click here to see the schedule or request a time that works for you.

Jul 26

Love0

Bigs in Blue Summit Shows Positive Impact Law Enforcement Personnel are having on Kids in our Community

By bbbs Bigs in Blue/Bigs with Badges

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 19^th, 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 13^th 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

Jan 20

Love0

Bigs in Blue Aims to Connect Youth & Police Through Mentoring

By bbbs Bigs in Blue/Bigs with Badges

Through one-to-one mentoring relationships, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay hopes area youth get a more accurate perception of the positive role law enforcement personnel play in our community.

Bigs in Blue is a one-to-one mentoring program through Big Brothers Big Sisters that aims to build a bridge between law enforcement personnel and the communities they serve by pairing children facing adversity with mentors in local law enforcement. Currently there are 55 Bigs in Blue programs in the United States, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.

The pilot program for the Tampa Bay area was launched with the Tampa Police Department in the fall of 2017. As part of the program, TPD employees (called Bigs) spend one hour each week meeting with an elementary school student (called Littles) to spend quality time together. Currently there are over 35 matches involving TPD personnel, and they are excited about growing with Bigs in Blue.

“We feel honored to be the pilot program and we think it will be a huge success in the Tampa Bay area,” said Capt. Ashley Roberts, Big Brothers Big Sisters liaison for the Tampa Police Department. She explained that the benefit of allowing officers to volunteer during their work hours means that the usual barriers to becoming a Big – not enough time or having kids of their own – is no longer an issue.

Capt. Roberts, who has a Little Sister herself, knew Bigs in Blue would have positive outcomes for the children, such as reducing their risk of involvement with the Dept. of Juvenile Justice. But she didn’t realize how much the program would affect her. “It definitely has a positive impact on the kids and the officers,” she said. “I look forward to seeing my Little all week. We’ve been reading My Little Pony together and she loves it! The program gives the children a sense of pride.”

“I would recommend the program to any local law enforcement that is thinking about getting involved,” she said. “The initial setup takes time, but after that, the program basically runs itself. I tell everyone how amazing this experience has been.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Bigs in Blue program, please reach out to Jack Sheppard at 727-420-4338 or JackS@bbbstampabay.org