Big Brother or Big Sister military-keiki mentoring offered

By Wayne Yoshino; School Liaison Office; Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation; U.S. Army Garrison HawaiiJuly 9, 2013

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (July 5, 2013) -- Big Brothers/Big Sisters Hawaii (BBBS) is partnering with schools, corporations and others in the community to pair children ("Littles") with carefully screened and trained volunteer mentors ("Bigs") to change lives for the better, forever.

The BBBS Military Mentoring Program (MMP) supports children, ages 9-17, of active duty military personnel of all branches and components, including the National Guard and Reserve.

"BBBS is committed to serving Hawaii's military youth," said Jeff Mullis, program coordinator. "Our program wants to support and assist them in their confidence and reaching their goals in life."

BBBS mentoring can provide an added layer of support to children of military families who may face extraordinary challenges and stresses because of multiple relocations, parent deployment or other realities of military life.

Another important outreach for BBBS is serving children who have lost a parent or have had a parent return from combat wounded.

The MMP matches adult members -- volunteers from fields such as education, business and government, as well as active or retired military personnel, cadets or reservists -- with children of military families, and then professionally supports and engages the volunteer, child and child's family.

Mullis described the type of impact the program offers.

"One young lady in this program last year said, 'My Big Sister is the best person in the world. She truly is like my own sister in life,'" Mullis explained.

The MMP reinforces the child's connection with the parent and community along with respecting and acknowledging the seven military values -- loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage -- as a launching pad for the child's personal development emotionally, mentally and physically.

After only one year, participating agencies experienced great success in serving the military community: 84 percent of children involved in the program increased self-confidence, and 57 percent improved in overall academic performance.

Military Youth Mentoring

All youth who would like to partner with a "Big Brother or Big Sister" should contact jmullis@bbbshawaii.org or 808-696-4554.