Community Partner Spotlight: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois

You may have seen the Four Seasons Core Values posted around the clubs. These Core Values were established for employees, by employees and are a list of values we believe our employees and members should exemplify day-in and day-out. Our Core Values in action look like this:

Not only do we believe our employees and members should exemplify these values, we also look for Community Partners who share in our values, like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois.

For more than 25 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois has been helping our community’s most vulnerable children through the power of relationships. Carefully screened adult mentors, known as a Big Brother or Big Sister, are matched with children in the community, affectionately known as Littles, who need someone to look up to. Bigs and Littles each meet regularly to participate in a fun activity together opening the door for a conversation about life and personal issues, while allowing the Littles to receive the support and care needed to make good choices.

“The vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to make sure that children achieve success in life, “ shared Corey Burrows, Chief Operating Officer of  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois. “Our mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.”

The impact on the children truly is immeasurable, as a former parent whose child was enrolled in the program shared: “There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am for this program and my son’s mentor. My son’s mentor has become part of the family. He is family to us.”

We at Four Seasons Health Club are thrilled to shine a spotlight on our Community Partner, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois, and in doing so highlight a need within the Big Brothers Big Sisters community.

“Partnerships with community businesses like Four Seasons allows us to offer our children in the program opportunities for recreational, educational or cultural experiences that they normally would not have without the generosity of our partners,” said Anne McDowell, Community Partnerships/Match Support Specialist. “Also, having opportunities to educate the Four Seasons membership about our programs and the fact that we need more mentors, especially men, can bring more positive mentoring relationships to youth in our community and on our waiting list” she added.

According to BBBS, only one out of ten new volunteers enrolling at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois is male, whereas a majority of the children applying are boys raised by a single female parent. The boys need solid male role models to grow into responsible adults. These youngsters are ready and waiting for a few good men to step forward. Being a Big Brother requires no special skills – just a desire to step in and make a difference.

Interested in becoming a mentor or simply learning more on how to get involved? Contact the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois office in Bloomington at 309-828-7383 or email Anne McDowell at a.mcdowell@bbbscil.org.

 

For information on becoming a Corporate Partner or Sponsor of Four Seasons Association, contact our Community Outreach Specialist, Melody Tria, at Melody@4seasons-club.com today!