The topic of the 658th Meeting of the Rotary Club of Dixie Sunrise – meeting #13 this year- was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah – Southern Utah.
It was our privilege to learn from Teri Iverson, the Southern Utah Program Coordinator, of the work and success of the Big Brother Big Sister Programs throughout the state and in the St. George community. Dr. Paul Gooch introduced Teri telling us she has lived most of her life here and has been this programs coordinator for 6 years. She has degrees from Dixie State College and SUU in Psychology and in addition to her other interests will start teaching Yoga next month.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is 105 year old. The program started in New York City with the “brothers” part and was followed with the early “sisters” part being lead by the nuns of the Catholic Church. The organization has been working in Utah for 30 years. The St. George office has been operating for 6 years. There are two programs within Big Brothers Big Sisters; a community based program and a school based program. The community based program asks volunteers to spend time 2 – 4 times a month with a child. The school based program gives the volunteers the opportunity to have lunch at school with a child each week and has a more educational focus such as reading with a child or just offering encouragement. Either commitment is for a year but often volunteers stay connected with the child for a number of years. Most of the children in the program come from single parent families but regardless of family situation the families must make application to the program and be supportive of it.
Fundraisers are key to the organization’s success and we were invited to participate in their next event; a 5K Run/Walk and 1K Kids Race The Monster Dash on Halloween morning. For more information on the Monster Dash or the organization, phone 986-9776 or go to http://www.bbbsu.org/.
See you all next week!
Marla Shelby-Drabner, President
It was our privilege to learn from Teri Iverson, the Southern Utah Program Coordinator, of the work and success of the Big Brother Big Sister Programs throughout the state and in the St. George community. Dr. Paul Gooch introduced Teri telling us she has lived most of her life here and has been this programs coordinator for 6 years. She has degrees from Dixie State College and SUU in Psychology and in addition to her other interests will start teaching Yoga next month.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is 105 year old. The program started in New York City with the “brothers” part and was followed with the early “sisters” part being lead by the nuns of the Catholic Church. The organization has been working in Utah for 30 years. The St. George office has been operating for 6 years. There are two programs within Big Brothers Big Sisters; a community based program and a school based program. The community based program asks volunteers to spend time 2 – 4 times a month with a child. The school based program gives the volunteers the opportunity to have lunch at school with a child each week and has a more educational focus such as reading with a child or just offering encouragement. Either commitment is for a year but often volunteers stay connected with the child for a number of years. Most of the children in the program come from single parent families but regardless of family situation the families must make application to the program and be supportive of it.
Fundraisers are key to the organization’s success and we were invited to participate in their next event; a 5K Run/Walk and 1K Kids Race The Monster Dash on Halloween morning. For more information on the Monster Dash or the organization, phone 986-9776 or go to http://www.bbbsu.org/.
See you all next week!
Marla Shelby-Drabner, President
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