February: BBBS Activities & Events
February is sometimes considered a quiet month as organizations settle into the new year. Not so at Big Brothers Big Sisters! We’re not only continuing to make and support our matches, we have a wide range of activities and events taking place as well. It’s a busy time!
February is Black History Month. Celebrated at this time of year because it coincides with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, Black History Month recognizes the rich cultural heritage, triumphs and adversities that are an indelible part of our country’s history. BBBS will be honoring and celebrating this national observance on social media throughout the month.
In addition, our Programs team has already planned and coordinated several events. We recently held a Car Maintenance Workshop at Austin Infiniti for BBBS mentees ages 14 – 25. This event was organized by Big Sister Alli Walker, who works at the dealership. Austin Infiniti’s Service Center Manager, Joshua Sandoval, and Master Certified Technician, Nick Harris, provided instruction. They talked about what a career as an automotive technician is like and educated students about basic car parts and maintenance. Plans are in the works to offer this course again and to expand the partnership in other ways.
On February 28, Visa and Human-I-T are hosting an Austin Digital Empowerment workshop at the Austin Central Library. This event will offer mentees 18 years and older the opportunity to learn digital literacy skills. Stay tuned for more details as plans for the event are finalized.
This month we also began hosting monthly celebrations recognizing matches for their match anniversaries. Each month we will invite matches who are having milestone anniversaries to a celebration in our Youth Activity Center where they’ll enjoy refreshments, social time, and special art projects. The first of these events was held last night and was a great success!
This weekend, a number of BBBS mentees will have the opportunity to receive free haircuts at the first-ever Haircuts and High Fives event being offered by M&B Hair Salon for Men. Scott and Alix Kautz, owners of M&B Hair Salon for Men, along with other barbers, are providing haircuts to youth from different schools and organizations. It’s not only a great opportunity for our kids, but a great opportunity for BBBS to connect with other community organizations that may need mentoring services.
BBBSCTX’ Programs staff has also participated in several recruiting events in San Marcos, in an effort to find more mentors for youth in Hays county, and, on Super Bowl weekend, BBBS of America will launch its annual ‘Big Draft’ volunteer recruitment campaign in conjunction with the NFL. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘6,000 Bigs in 60 Days’ and the campaign will include messaging that coincides with the NFL’s draft season. We will be getting our own local recruitment messaging out on social media as well.
Amplify Austin takes place March 1st – 2nd, and BBBS is excited to be participating in this 24-hour day of community-wide giving once again.
Although the campaign officially takes place March 1st-2nd, donors can get a head start and make early gifts and contributions via our Amplify Austin web page between now and March 2nd. All gifts made during this timeframe will count toward our Amplify Austin goal.
You can make your Amplify Austin donation to BBBS at: https://www.amplifyatx.org/organizations/big-brothers-big-sisters-of-central-texas
And, as if all of that wasn’t enough, we are busy forming teams and getting our costumes together in preparation for our 40th Annual Bowl for Kids celebration! This year BBBS’ Bowl for Kids event celebrates 40 years of raising funds to provide kids with mentors who can help them thrive. You can learn more and get involved at BowlforKidsAustin.org. Bowl for Kids takes place April 21 & 22nd this year.
Whew! That’s a lot and it’s just the beginning of many great things to come. We look forward to working together, seeing you at our activities and events, and making an even bigger difference for kids in our community!
