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We celebrated our Littles that are graduating from high school with a ceremony at Sunken Gardens.

Bigs, Littles & their families celebrated the graduating class of 2018 this past week with a very special graduation ceremony at Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, FL. This year, we had 85 Littles in our program who were graduating from high school with over 40 of the Littles in attendance at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay ceremony. Along with their Bigs and family, the event was a packed house with over 150 people there to show their support for our graduates.

The evening kicked off with a delicious spread of pasta, salad, and bread from Carrabba’s Italian Grill. As guests nibbled on their dinners, our guest speaker Bob Conigliaro of Caspers Corporation gave out words of wisdom for our graduates, reminding them that hard work and a positive attitude will lead to success. His words were so inspiring that many Bigs and family members said that they were also moved by his speech.

After the special guest speaker, Scholarship Committee member, Gerry Goldhammer, and our own Senior Vice President of Programs, Jennifer Libby, presented awards to the two Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay scholarship winners, Timia Fonville (Boca Ciega High School) and Kiara Stevens (Boca Ciega High School). Then our School-to-Work Coordinator, Dallas Ruffin, recognized our School-to-Work Scholarship winners who received their awards at our School-to-Work graduations earlier this month. Yonjer Suarez (A. P. Leto High School), Dalila Maceda (A. P. Leto High School), Sky Kinzinger (Clearwater High School), Jordan Curtiss (Clearwater High School), Tristan Trombley (Northeast High School), and Emily DaSilva (Northeast High School) were all recognized for their outstanding work and for being chosen as our School-to-Work scholarship recipients. Jennifer Libby also took the time to recognize Alexander Marcano (Clearwater High School), who was chosen to be one of only 20 Minor League Baseball Rising Star Students. Alexander was recognized at the Clearwater Thresher’s game on June 1^st where he had the opportunity to throw the first pitch and was also awarded a scholarship.

Each graduate was called to the podium to be recognized for their achievements and receive a certificate from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay for graduating from high school and from our mentoring programs. They were each awarded a monogrammed pen and pencil set with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay logo, a token of remembrance for the special time spent with their Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

A special thank you to Caspers Corporation for sponsoring the event for the third year, Carrabba’s Italian Grill at Sunken Gardens for their generous dinner donation, and Winn-Dixie South Tampa for the beautiful cake.

View the photo album from the evening here.

It’s not the money spent that makes the difference, but how you spend your time that will have a lasting impact. 

You may remember your Match Support Specialist saying that Disney isn’t the best idea for your first outing with your Little. Ever wonder why? It’s because it sets an expectation that EVERY outing will be just as big and extravagant as Disney. In reality, most of the activities you will do together will be free or low-cost activities that encourage your Little to engage with you and the surrounding environment without putting a strain on your wallet.

When it comes to spending time with your Little, it’s not about how much money you spend. Although a trip to Disney can be fun for a special occasion, like your Little’s birthday or a stellar report card from school, what’s important is consistency in time spent with your Little.

Here are some awesome ways to hang with your Little that are free or low-cost:

• Wash the car
• Visit the park
• Go to a festival
• Play a sport together
• Watch a ballgame
• Go to the beach
• Enjoy a fishing trip
• Bake a cake or cook a meal
• Make a scrapbook
• Go on a picnic
• Visit the local library
• Play a board game or card game
• Help them with their homework
• Take a walk, hike or ride your bikes

It really is that easy! Your Little will cherish the time you spend together no matter what you are doing. And you don’t have to break the bank to have a good time.

What other ideas do you have for free and low-cost ways that you can spend time with your Little?

Matches from all over our seven counties attended our largest annual Big/Little event at the Florida Aquarium, sponsored by Bloomin’ Brands.

Each year Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay hosts the BIG Celebration for our matches. This event is an opportunity for Bigs and Littles to get together to enjoy food and fun with each other. This year we had over 200 matches in attendance. Some had only been matched for a few weeks, others had been matched for over ten years!

The celebration was an evening at The Florida Aquarium. Matches got to hang with the fish and chow on catered delights graciously donated by Bloomin’ Brands. The adventurous types were seen petting stingrays while others donned boas and masks for the photo booth. Everyone took turns waving at divers in the shark tank and taking guesses at the size of the Goliath grouper.

The BIG Celebration is also a time for matches to meet with their Match Support Specialists. These specialists help facilitate relationships between Bigs and Littles. Some Match Support Specialists came up with fun activities for their matches to do while at the event such as a deep-sea scavenger hunt!

A huge thanks to our sponsors, The Florida Aquarium and Bloomin’ Brands, for making this event possible. Good times were had and memories were made!

Want to make a lasting difference in a child’s life? Learn how to become a mentor today!