COACHES CORNER M A Y ,
V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
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KEEPING THINGS FRESH IN YOUR MENTOR RELATIONSHIP When you spend enough time with someone, inevitably your her own will keep her engaged in the relationship. relationship reaches a point where the newness feels as if it has worn off. Be sensitive to the developmental stage your mentee is in, and find out Maybe at one point your mentee was full of surprises, revealing a little about other stresses in his life. Don’t just presume you know what is more of his true self at every visit. Now you generally know what to expect going on in your mentee’s life. Today’s young people are often from him, you know a lot about what is going on in his life, and you’ve dealing with a different set of issues than you dealt with in your tried out a lot of fun activities you planned to do when you were first youth. Things may be happening in your mentee’s life that are matched with your mentee. impacting how he responds to your relationship. Let him know you There is something comfortable about reaching this “familiar” point are there to support him, no matter what. in a relationship, but you run the risk of one (or both) of you losing your enthusiasm. As with any good relationship, highs and lows are normal; it Source: Mentoring for Meaningful Results by Kristie Probst; takes conscious effort to keep a relationship going and growing. How can copyright 2006 Search Institute you keep a relationship so that you and your mentee don’t get bored? Here are some tips for maintaining relationship energy: Have a heart-to-heart talk about the ups and downs in every relationship, and stress that they are natural. The key is to understand it and intentionally find ways to avoid a downward spiral from which it could be difficult to rebound. Brainstorm new activities. One mentor-mentee match decided that at every visit they would take turns picking something totally spontaneous to do, and there could be no griping or whining about it. On one visit the mentor chose an unlikely activity- going to the opera. It turns out the mentee, a teen from a rough urban neighborhood, loved the experience, eventually he bought the soundtrack and played it in the mentor’s car. Set goals for your relationship. Make a timeline for all the activities you’ll do over the next year. Throw in some really outrageous activities as well as some of your standard, tried- and- true activities. If you live in a rural area, consider an activity that gets you to a bigger city, or vice versa. Remember that fun activities can be very low-cost. Empowering your mentee to share her thoughts and feelings is crucial. A natural pitfall mentors fall into is that they feel obligated to impact wisdom or advice to a child. Often, what the child needs most is to have you listen to him and empower him to solve his own problems. Giving your mentee a chance to talk and work through problems on
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
I wish we were doing something fun!
Keeping Things Fresh with your Little August Activity Ideas Dear Match Coach: Re-engage Your Little BBBS Golf Outing a BIG Success! RAVE ABOUT YOUR LITTLE—Yvonne & Caelan August Match Anniversaries Healthy Kids—Healthy Snacks Hello from Sunny Downtown Macomb!
Money-Wise Kids: Investing in Your Future Get to Know BBBS Staff—Katie Zick HAVlife Update Does Your Little Need School Supplies? BBBS—August Activity Guide Reunite Picnic—October 5th—Save the Date Community Calendar—August 100 Days / 100 Bigs—Volunteer Recruitment
COACHES CORNER V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
AUGUST, 2 0 1 4
AUGUST ACTIVITY IDEAS: FINISH UP THE SUMMER!
Community-Based Matches, finish out the summer by trying these fun activity ideas!
Featured above: chalk dress up dolls!
Play chalk dress up dolls. Have a picnic at a park. Go paddle boating or canoeing at West Lake. Write and illustrate your own book. Make a sidewalk chalk mural. Pick up trash at a local park. Make a bird house. Visit a museum you’ve never been to. Blend your own smoothie. Wash your car or bicycle.
DEAR MATCH COACH: RE-ENGAGE YOUR LITTLE School is just around the corner. What should I do as a Big to re-engage my Little when our school-based visits resume? As a Big in the School-Based program, it is important that you are excited to resume visits with your Little. Your Match Coach will contact you in August with updated information about your Little such as their new teacher’s name, their lunch time and if needed, their new school. To prepare for your first visit with them, you can think of questions to ask your Little about their summer and their expectations and goals for this school year. This is a great time to change your routine and/or set new patterns. Do more of what you liked last year and less of what you didn’t. For example if you found yourself buying lunch for each visit for both of you and you felt obligated rather than wanting to do it, set up a new routine such as a rewards program where you buy lunch when they receive certain grades on their report card or reach certain milestones. It is up to you. Different matches spend their time differently. BBBS is working on updating activity boxes that will be kept at each school for you and your Little to utilize. If you have any ideas of things that you would like to see in these activity boxes, please inform your Match Coach so we can try to get that for you.
For both School-Based and Community-Based matches, it is important to be positive cheerleaders to your Littles to help them with school and stay engaged and motivated throughout the school year. Help them start with good habits such as keeping a schedule, staying organized and improving their time management skills. If they are involved in extracurricular activities such as band or sports, ask for their activity schedule so you can attend some events to motivate them even more to succeed. It would also be a good idea to ask your Little’s school for a copy of their school calendar for the year so you know when they have scheduled days off. BBBS will be hosting a picnic on October 5th, and your match is invited! Please let us know if you and your Little would like to attend, as we would need to arrange transportation with their family— School-Based Bigs cannot transport their Littles, even to a BBBS event). If you have any other questions or suggestions of ways to improve the quality of your match, don’t hesitate to ask your match coach. After all, that’s what we are here for!
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2014 BBBS GOLF OUTING—RAISES OVER $30,000 ! The 2014 Big Brothers Big Sisters Golf Outing was a BIG success with over $30,000 being raised to support one-to-one mentoring. It was a beautiful, hot summer day on July 21st which brought out 112 players for a 10 a.m. shotgun start. A big thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, GalaxyOne Marketing and to Fyre Lake Golf Club, our host. The Team from the “First Tee” program (foursome sponsored by John Leinart) won the outing! And, Marcia Voss won $10,000 in cash by making the Hole-In-One contest on Hole 12. Congratulations to all! What a great day for golf and for supporting mentoring!
Hole 13 at Fyre Lake Golf Club
Thanks to Hornbuckle for tee gift bags!
Marcia Voss, our Hole-In-One winner!
Raffle prize winner, Jake Ward, RIA Fed CU
The 2014 BBBS Golf Outing winners were from the First Tee program. From left to right: Dave Struve, Jarod Struve, Tom Schebler and Cory Hasley. They won with a score of 57!
Loading up the carts.
GalaxyOne’s Putt Challenge.
Presented by:
Hosted by:
A special thanks to Hornbuckle Heating and Air Conditioning for their sponsorship of our tee gift bag, and to Ryan Companies, US and Treiber Construction Co. for sponsoring the beverage tents. Also, thanks to Stern Beverage for sponsoring Bloody Mary Island and to Azteca for sponsoring our 19th Hole Fiesta food!
Do you know anyone who might want to volunteer?
It only takes about two hours a month to volunteer as a Big in our School-Based program. We are now matching for the 2014 / 2015 school year. Call us today at 563-323-8006 or go online to inquire at
www.bbbsmv.org
Great raffle prizes!
GalaxyOne Foursome!
COACHES CORNER V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
AUGUST, 2 0 1 4
RAVE ABOUT YOUR LITTLE: YVONNE AND CAELAN When Big Sister Yvonne broke her shoulder this past winter and was laid up in recovery, her Little Sister Caelan was concerned. Caelan asked her teacher if she could write Yvonne a get well card and her teacher arranged for this to happen. Below is her letter, showing her kindness to her Big Sister: Dear Yvonne, How are you today? We’ve been having a great time in school. Today at lunch we were supposed to have hot dogs but instead we had Thursday’s lunch! We were all confused. How is your shoulder? Does it still kind of hurt? I hope your day is ok because I don’t want it to be dark or too bright, I want it to be just right. If you are lonely and you need a friend just use your “IMAGINATION” to think I am there with you. Caelan.
100 DAYS / 100 BIGS: 150 CHILDREN ON WAITING LIST! 100 Days / 100 Bigs Update Event!
FIND OUT MORE TODAY!
Sunday, August 17th, 1-4 pm Parkside Grill & Lounge 2307 5th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265 *Appetizers provided *Volleyball and Bags RSVP to Jeannie at jweber@bbbs-mv.org Or call 563-323-8006 and ask for Jeannie Weber
www.bbbsmv.org or call 563-323-8006
Our Bigs have tripled the number of inquiries compared to the same time-frame a year ago! Agency Stats (June 1-July 15): Number of inquiries: 84 Number of subsequent completed interviews: 32
100/100 Team Stats (June 1-July 15; 1 pt .for inquiry, 5 pts. for enrollment): Leading Team: Joe Moralez’s Team with 21 points Leading Individual: Amy Herrig with 12 points
Way to go BIGS! Keep up the great volunteer recruitment work! Thank you KWQC!
AUGUST MATCH ANNIVERSARIES!
Little’s First Name
Big’s First Name
Big’s Last Name
Years Matched
K'yi
Bill
Mitchell
5
Antoinette
Ashanti
Brown
2
Jacob
Rich
White
1
Lindsey
Ashley
Keenan
1
Natalie
Kris
Robinson
1
COACHES CORNER
V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
AUGUST, 2 0 1 4
HEALTHY KIDS: HEALTHY SNACKS! By UnityPoint Health—Trinity staff Eating healthy is not always at the top of kids’ list of things to do. While it may seem like a daunting task finding ways to get your little to eat some fresh veggies and fruit, it could actually turn into a fun activity for the both of you to share … and eat! Here are three simple ideas, courtesy of parents.com, that you can try out with your little. Dino Nuggets It’s no secret that kids love chicken nuggets, especially ones that come in the shape of dinosaurs. You can steam some broccoli and buy a bag of green cabbage to set the scene of the dinosaurs’ stomping grounds. By placing the dinosaurs in their habitat, a healthy snack can be turned into a history lesson on how many dinos ate veggies. To help set your veggie stage, dab the bottom of the nuggets and broccoli with honey mustard to help stand them up on the plate, and use the cabbage for the floor of the plate to look like grass. Corn Flowers While many vegetables make kids grimace just at the name of them, corn is an easier vegetable to sell. Corn has a natural sweetness to it that makes it a little tastier. Sometimes it’s hard for kids to handle whole ears of corn, but turning them into little flower bouquets can turn corn into a fun craft. Grab your little and take a cooked ear and slice it horizontally into pieces, four rows wide. The kernels look similar to flower petals. Next, push a lollipop stick into one end to make the stem. You can always take this one step further by getting small planting pots
with Styrofoam placed in them to sick your corn flowers in to make the bouquet. Bug Bites Take olives and tomatoes, a typical “no” on the favorite food list for kids, and turn them into fun ladybug bites! Cut a cherry tomato in half, and afterwards place the inside side half down on the plate and partially slice the top. Spread the partially cut side apart and attach it to either a cucumber slice or a chunk of low-fat cream cheese with a toothpick. With another toothpick place an olive on the front of the tomato to make the head of the ladybug. With some cut up olive pieces, you can stick them to the body of the tomato with cream cheese making the spots of the ladybug. Place dots of cream cheese and olive slices for the eyes and finish off with little carrot slices as legs. Not only can you accomplish having your little consume a healthy snack, you can show them how fun it is to eat healthy! There are a variety of ways to create nutritious meals exciting for your little. It’s not just limited to these three. Be creative about how you present food by using some color and even looking up facts about the benefits of good eating that you can share with your little.
Thanks to UnityPoint Health—Trinity for their support of our Healthy Kids program!
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AUGUST, 2 0 1 4
HELLO FROM SUNNY DOWNTOWN MACOMB! We have tons of great news this month. So many good people are doing so many good things it’s hard to keep up with all of it! Let’s have a look.
In July we made 2 brand new matches! We are very proud to introduce Little Brother Max and Big Brother Brad (left) and Little Brother Geoff and Big Brother Sean (right). Welcome to the family!
NEW MATCHES In June we had one of our best school-based matches transition to community-based! Big Brother Eric and Little Brother Tavahreon have built a great relationship, and they are ready to move on to bigger things. CONGRATULATIONS!
AND, Big Brother Eric helped Little Brother Tavahreon win a HAVLife grant for WIU’s boys basketball camp! Here are the photos:
SAVE THE DATE The 2014 Bowl for Kids Sake event will be on Saturday 1 November, at Digger’s College City Bowl. We are working hard to make this year’s the best BFKS sake Macomb has ever seen. Give us a call to volunteer. Much more information to come.
MUSIC TRIVIA On 28 June we held our second annual Music Trivia fundraiser. Macomb’s American Legion hosted, and the Laverdieres were the DJ’s. 9 teams competed for fabulous prizes and raised more than $1200 for our program. Who won? Macomb’s rockin’ Roller Derby team, The
Bombshells. Thanks to all the local businesses for donating door prizes, thanks to the professional sports teams for donating tickets, thanks to everyone who played, and thanks to the Macomb community for continuing to support us!
BBBS BOARD We had our monthly meeting on Monday 7 July. We welcomed some new especially talented and committed Board in Warren and McDonough members, we welcomed back a member who has been “off the grid” for a Counties, and those great volunteers continue to do BBBS proud. BIG bit, and we began discussing the coming school year. We have an thanks to all of them!
To inquire about becoming a Big in Macomb call Pete at 309-837-5437
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MONEY WISE KIDS: INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE Investing begins with savings To figure out how much you need to put away, you need to know what you’re saving for and when you’ll need to use the money. Here are a couple different ways to save: Savings Accounts – If you have money in a savings account, you receive interest on the account balance, and you can easily get your money whenever you want it. Money Market Accounts –These accounts tend to offer higher interest rates than savings accounts. They pay interest, but typically require a higher minimum balance to avoid fees. Certificates of Deposit – You can earn higher interest if you put your money in a certificate of deposit, or CD. When you put funds into a CD, you promise that you're going to keep your money there for a specific amount of time. It’s important to know there are penalties (fees) if you take your money out early. Investing for Retirement Your retirement is a ways off, but it’s never too early to start investing. Here are a couple ways to save for retirement:
Individual Retirement Accounts. They provide tax advantages for retirement savings. A Traditional IRAs contributions are typically tax-deductible. You pay no taxes on IRA earnings until retirement, when withdrawals are taxed as income. Roth IRAs contributions are made with after-tax funds and are not tax-deductible, but earnings and withdrawals are tax-free. Risk and Return It’s important to understand that every saving and investment product has different risks and returns, including access to your money, how fast your money will grow, and how safe your money will be. Savings Products – Savings accounts, insured money market accounts, and CDs are viewed as very safe because they are federally insured. You can easily get to money in savings if you need it for any reason. But there's a tradeoff for security and ready availability. The interest rate on savings accounts is generally lower when compared to investments. Investment Products – All have higher risks and potentially higher returns than savings products. For many years, stocks have provided the highest average rate of return; it’s also the most risky. If a company doesn't do well or falls out of favor with investors, its stock price can fall, and investors could lose money.
Remember – the greater the possible return, the greater the risk. 401K Plan – Under this plan, a set amount is deducted from the One protection against risk is time, and time is on your side. On any day employee’s paycheck and sometimes matched by their the stock market can go up or down. Sometimes it goes down for employer. Contributions are tax-deferred until withdrawn after months or years. retirement. You may think you’re too young to start thinking about retirement, Traditional and Roth IRAs – These are two common types of but it’s never too early to start.
Thanks to IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union for their support of our Money-Wise Kids program! Check out the Money-Wise Kids lessons
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GET TO KNOW BBBS STAFF: KATIE ZICK Name: Katie Zick Position: Match Coach How long have you been working for BBBS? 2 years What is your favorite memory during the time you have been with BBBS? My favorite memory would be attending match anniversary parties. It’s been interesting to see different match lengths and hear stories of what they have been doing over their year together and what changes they have noticed since their first meeting . What do you like to do when you are not working? When not working at BBBS or the Veterinarian Hospital I like to spend time with my family and friends and go on walks to the dog park with my golden retriever, Cody. I also like to run, play soccer and volleyball, eat ice cream (Whitey’s is my favorite), watch movies and the Chicago Cubs, and I LOVE to travel. What advice would you give a child who is in our program? Don’t take your family, friends, or Big for granted. Being surrounded by people who care about you and accept you for who you are is one of the greatest gifts you can have. Having someone there to talk to when something good happens or if you are having a difficult time can be helpful and make you feel better, but in order to have that relationship you have to show the same kindness and respect to your family and friends.
HAVlife UPDATE! Congratulations to these Littles who have recently received the HAVlife grant! Pictured is Little Brother, Ryan, excited about the Tae Kwon Do lessons that HAVlife is providing. Ryan’s doctor recommended that he participate in some sort of total body workout to help alleviate migraine headaches, and Tae Kwon Do seemed to be just the thing! Ryan’s mom is looking forward to him being part of this safe environment where he can be encouraged, learn a sense of responsibility and improve his fine motor skills/ coordination. Best of luck to you, Ryan!
Way to go Ryan!
Boe: Martial Arts classes Tavahreon: basketball camp Akugri: soccer camp Andrew: football Niyesha: basketball camp Ryan: Tae Kwon Do Connor: tennis Savannah: cello rental Hannah: voice lessons Ethan: guitar lessons
DOES YOUR LITTLE NEED SCHOOL SUPPLIES? Check with your Match Coach and we’ll see if we can help! 563-323-8006
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BBBS Summer Activity Guide ***Check out the following activities and be sure to RSVP to your Match Coach! ***
AUGUST Monday, August 4: Book Club Reading together is a great way to bond as a match! Join us as we read Johnny Copper and the Case of the Missing Chocolate by local author Gregory S. Heist. This book is geared to the 3rd-5th grade reader, but not limited to that age. Come along with Johnny Copper and his partner, Carly Cruz, as they investigate the case of the missing chocolate. This case is like a roller coaster, with twists and turns that will take you for a bumpy ride. Are you a good detective? Can you get to the truth? Greg is a retired police Captain from the Moline Police Department and spent many years overseeing the Criminal Investigations area. We are thrilled to be reading his first published work, and we look forward to him joining us on August 4th to discuss the book. Please pick up your books from BBBS right away! Time: 6:00-7:00 pm Location: BBBS office, 130 W. 5th Street RSVP by: Friday, August 1st.
AUGUST Sunday, August 10: Pool Party Beat the heat this summer and have a blast with us at the Whitewater Junction pool! Time: 6:00-8:00 pm Location: Whitewater Junction, Island RSVP by: Friday, August 8
Rock
Tuesday, August 26: Cooking Class Work together to prepare a meal from scratch in the Hy-Vee kitchen. Enjoy following along with a professional chef as you prep the kitchen, learn about nutrition and different food choices, and put together a masterpiece meal! Time: 5:30-6:30 pm Location: West Kimberly Hy-Vee RSVP by: Tuesday, August 19th Cost: $5 per match
Thursday, August 7: Volleyball/ Kickball Head outside for a few hours with us to play sand volleyball and kickball at the park. Cool treats will be provided! Time: 6:00-8:00 pm Location: TBA
REUNITE PICNIC
PLANNED FOR OCT. 5TH Reserve the date! Sunday, October 5th, 1 P.M. at Camden park in Milan, IL GAMES, SOFTBALL, GREAT FOOD AND RAFFLES! FREE TO CURRENT BIGS AND THEIR LITTLES PLUS UP TO FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS! Sponsored by elanders Americas!
Join in the fun! Come to a Match Activity with your Little!
COACHES CORNER V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
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COACHES CORNER
V O L U M E 6, I S S U E 8
AUGUST, 2 0 1 4
COMMUNITY CALENDAR—AUGUST 2014 CALENDAR SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
Family Friday Swim Night
3
4
Dollar Days at Miller Bowl & Putnam
5
6
11
12
13
Dollar Day at Putnam
14
9 Canoe Crazy!
Movie in the Park Willy Wonka
15
16
22
23
Summer Concert Series
BBBS POOL PARTY
17
8
BBBS VOLLEY BALL/ KICK BALL!
BBBS BOOK CLUB
10
7
18
19
20
21
25
26
27
28
100 Days / 100 Bigs Update Event
24 31
29
30
BBBS COOKING CLASS
OUT AND ABOUT IN THE QUAD CITIES! AUGUST Friday, August 1st- Friday Family Swim Night! Take your family for a swim at half the price of the normal daily admissions! This deal is offered every Friday from 6pm-8pm at the Annie Wittenmyer and Fejervary Aquatic Centers. Admission is $2!
form 6PM-8PM in the Credit Island Lagoon. Learn how to safely canoe or kayak in some still water. There will be pizza available which will include two slices and lemonade when a family is pre-registered. $4 per person at the event.
Monday, August 4th- Dollar Day at Miller Time bowling alley! On Mondays from 3:00 pm- 10:00 pm Miller Time is offering the following goods for only $1.00! 1 game of bowling, Shoe rental, Hot dogs,& French Fries!
Saturday, August 9th – Movie in the Park presents Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory! Show Starts at 9PM at the Veterans Memorial Park in Bettendorf, Iowa. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. FREE admission!
Monday, August 4th & 11th – Dollar Day at the Putnam Museum. Explore the Putnam museum for only $1! Call (563)324-1933 for more information.
Thursday, August 14th- Summer Concert Series! Enjoy great music in a beautiful setting- Vander Veer Botanical Park! Concerts are FREE to the public, featuring music the entire family will enjoy. Bring your lawn chairs and a snack, and enjoy an evening at Vander Veer.
Friday, August 8th- Canoe Crazy! Canoe or kayak with an expert
ASK YOUR FRIEND OR CO-WORKER TO BECOME A BIG THIS FALL! WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! 563-323-8006 www.bbbs-mv.org