VENTURA COUNTY — January is National Mentoring Month, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) is celebrating with some very special events and activities, with a message of volunteerism and thanking First Responders in Ventura County.
All month long, Bigs and Littles will be creating handmade thank-you cards for Ventura County’s First Responders – police, fire, and medical. Bigs and Littles will have the opportunity to present these cards to our local heroes at a special First Responders Lunch on Sunday, January 21st, at the Vagabond Coffee Shop in Ventura. Bigs and Littles will also help host the free lunch, welcome the event’s special guests, and pull free raffle prizes for those First Responders in attendance, which include gifts like tickets to Disneyland!
“National Mentoring Month is a way to start the year in perspective, remembering that we all have role models who guide us,” says BBSVC Vice President of Recruitment, Danica Selvaggio. “It’s also a way to encourage our Bigs and Littles to start off strong, set goals for themselves, and keep their momentum going all year long.”
As a reward for volunteering all month long to thank the county’s First Responders, Disney is giving each participating Big and Little tickets to Disneyland, and equipping BBSVC with the resources to take each mentoring match to the theme park by bus, with lunch and snacks.
The big finale for BBSVC’s National Mentoring Month is BBSVC’s BIG Fun Night at Kids World in Oak Park. On Sunday, January 28, Kids World will be open only to BBSVC’s mentoring matches for a night of lazer tag, 4-story play structure access, free food, and more! It’s an opportunity for Bigs and Littles to meet other program participants, as well as have a lot of fun. An official community partner for 2018, Kids World is committed to supporting BBSVC’s youth and discovering fun opportunities together.
BBSVC is still seeking adult role models across Ventura County who want to step up and apply to be a BIG. With over 150 children on the BBSVC waitlist in total, there are youth in every city across Ventura County who are anxiously waiting to be matched with a mentor, and some of these youth have been waiting for more than a year. With help from the community, BBSVC hopes to make 2018 its most successful year in matching new Bigs and Littles ever!
- Anyone interested in learning more or who is ready to become a mentor may visit www.BBSVC.org/MENTOR, or may contact Danica Selvaggio at dselvaggio@bbsvc.org or 805.484.2282.
- For more information about Kids World, visit www.kidsworldla.com
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) has been connecting Bigs and Littles in professionally-supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships in Ventura County and neighboring communities since 1970. Facilitating more than 1,500 mentoring matches annually between community or school-based volunteers and youth ages 6-21 years old, BBSVC is committed to bringing their life-changing program to every child in Ventura County who needs it. BBSVC is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that depends on private donors for 75% of its funding.