Big Brothers Big Sisters Winds Down Recruiting Campaign

Big Brothers Big Sisters will wind down its "30 Men in 30 Days" campaign this Monday at Buffalo Wild Wings in Algonquin, and Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch will be at the event to help show our support.

The whole purpose of the campaign is to encourage men to sign up as mentors for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The organization also will host a wing-eating contest, and Wii bowling will be available at Monday's event, which will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings, 461 S. Randall Road, Algonquin. 

In McHenry County, about 70 percent of children who are seeking mentors through Big Brothers Big Sisters are boys.

At the same time, only two to three of 10 volunteers who sign up to mentor are men, Amy Carden of Big Brothers Big Sisters wrote in an email to Patch.com.

Patch.com is a big supporter of area nonprofit organizations, and we would like to see Big Brothers Big Sisters hit its goal of signing up 30 men as mentors in April. So far, 14 Big Brothers have joined the organization this month. 

We encourage anyone who has thought about becoming a mentor or who would like to learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters or who simply would like to take part in the wing-eating contest and come out to support Big Brothers Big Sisters to stop out to Buffalo Wild Wings on Monday.

If you do decide to get the paperwork going with Big Brothers Big Sisters — and take the first big step in becoming a mentor — you will be able to do so at the event.

Here are a couple reasons why the organization says Big Brothers are so important:  

• Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support, which is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. 

And here are some reasons Big Brothers Big Sisters would like to impart to those on the fence about becoming a "Big":

• You don’t have to change your life to change the life of a child.
• You have something to offer. Just be yourself, and as a Big Brother, you positively will improve the health, safety and growth of a boy and the community.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters’ professional staff will match you with a boy who has a similar background and similar interests — you will have fun. 
• Big Brothers Big Sisters doesn’t need superheroes. It needs real men who can hang out with a boy two to four times each month for at least one year.
• It’s about the time you spend, not the money. You can play ball, hang out or play a video game. 

If you would like to learn more about how you can become a Big Brother (or Sister) visit Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County's website or call 815-385-3855.

You can also sign up for the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch newsletter to get updates from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County blog, which appears on Patch, and for other news' updates regarding Algonquin and Lake in the Hills. Visit algonquin.patch.com/newsletters to sign up.