Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon

Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2009 – A Success!

bigbrotherbigsister — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:45:50 +0000

This years 10th Annual event raised over $39,000. Thanks to our Staff, Volunteers and Advisory Board members; we had a full house and tons of fun was had by all. We hope to increase attendance in 2010 and invite ALL to join the fun!

Contact our office for further information: 541-312-6047

Winter Fun!

bigbrotherbigsister — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:41:53 +0000

Thanks to a generous donation from Mt. Bachelor and an awesome discount from Seventh Mountain Resort, BBBSCO was recently able to host two spectacular winter match activities.

Kasey & Tiffany are ready to rock!

Leyvy, Lexi & Lisbeth having a blast!

Jenn making a safe landing

On Sunday, February 8th, 25 matches made their way up to the Snowblast Tubing Park for two hours of exhilarating, sun-drenched runs. The weather was perfect and the snow was just right, making for an excellent afternoon of high-speed gliding down the buttery crust of our beloved Mt. Bachelor. Everyone was stoked to participate in one of our most popular winter match activities.

Brad & Coby hammin' it up

Kyla & Doris are all smiles

Our Ice Skating Potluck Party was held on Thursday, March 5th at Seventh Mountain Resort’s Ice Skating Rink, and had a huge turnout of 20 matches. Each match brought a bit of food to share with the group, which included some stellar sweet and sour chicken prepared by Bigs Melissa and Sean and their Little Brother Mac, and lots and lots of decadent desserts. Hot chocolate by the fire pit was the perfect topper for a great evening filled with many smiles and laughs.

Chrissi & Gracee tearing up the ice

Cassie & Kelsea show off their skills

Christian, Kyrin & Colleen

Christine & Aspen go 'round and 'round

Henry & Clementine

bigbrotherbigsister — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:41:01 +0000

Henry and I have been matched for about a year and half now. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and at times can’t believe how aware, mature, polite, and caring he is for a kid that turned just 10 this week. On one occasion late in my wife’s pregnancy, I picked him up after school to grab some dinner out. Henry loves the Red Robin and the chicken pot pie at Cascade Lakes, so I had a sense of where we might end up. I explained that we could eat anywhere that he’d like but that we needed to bring something back for Anna because she wasn’t feeling well enough to make dinner. He replied, “I’ll eat anything. Let’s call Anna and ask her what she wants because pregnant people (yes, he used the word “people”) like some stuff and not other stuff and sometimes weird stuff.” Since it was approaching 6:00 p.m. he suggested that we just grab take-out instead of eating out because Anna was probably hungry. This is just one example of Henry thinking about others and showing an uncommon level of maturity for a 10 year old.

Clementine (our first child) was born on December 28th. Henry and I had plans for video games, movies, and paper airplane making for that week, as he was off from school and I was off from work. We had to cancel our plans and have since spent little time together, as I fumbled through joys of first-time fatherhood. Henry and his mom came over recently to meet Clementine and after a little trouble when he first held her (notice her head in pic #1), he quickly got the proper technique down. He was very gentle and liked the fact that she “squirmed around a lot and made cute noises”.

Henry has been very patient and accepting of the time constraints that caring for a newborn has placed on my schedule. Watching him around my daughter reminded me of how special of a kid he really is and I wanted to pass these stories along.

When I signed up to be a Big Brother I thought that I had a lot to give but I had no idea that I’d be receiving so much from our relationship. I’m very thankful to have been matched with such a special kid.

Jeremy

Hanging With Sierra

bigbrotherbigsister — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:34:50 +0000

Sierra’s been my little sister for about two years now, and she’s recently turned 12 (going on 18!). She just moved out to Redmond to live with her dad, and even though we don’t see each other as much, she’s loving her new school, and making great friends. She’s also getting certified as a babysitter to make some spending money (she’ll be great because she loves kids!). I’m so happy for her!

In response to Chris’s post about what to do with his little brother, it’s sooo easy!! The most fun times I’ve had with Sierra have been totally unplanned and unstructured. For instance, she thinks it’s really cool if we just go and run my errands together. I can’t understand this, but she digs it! Or just hanging at my house, making mac and cheese and watching American Idol. Things I’d be doing anyway, she feels like a grown up that she gets to do them with me. And the littles LOVE flashing their “little” card at restaurants, stores, etc. to get discounts and special privileges. Chris…thank you for being such a great addition to our community, and for being a mentor and making a difference in your little brother’s life!

New to Central Oregon

bigbrotherbigsister — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:04:34 +0000

Hello my name is Chris and I am new to the Central Oregon community and a newly signed up Big Brother. I was matched in a school-based program back east and I am looking for advice. What are some cool activities do with your Little here in Central Oregon? Thanks

Crook County Chili Cook-Off Results

bigbrotherbigsister — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:38:39 +0000

When you think of Crook County what comes to mind? Tires? Juniper and sage? Agriculture? Cowboys? Trucks? Beef? We think so, hence, the First Crook County Chili Cook-Off for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon.

On Thursday, January 15, participants of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Crook County met at the library for an evening of food, fun and recognition of our fantastic volunteers!

~ 1st Place Chili cooked by Big Sister Jeannie Stephens and her Little Sister Brittney

~ 2nd Place Chili cooked by Little Brother Josh and his grandmother, Sue Taylor

Thanks to all of the Bigs and Littles who make this program a success in the Crook County community!

More Foundation Support in the 2nd Quarter

bigbrotherbigsister — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:38:40 +0000

BBBSCO is grateful and excited to announce that we have received grant awards in the amount of $10,000 from the Safeco Insurance Foundation, $10,000 from the Islands Fund and $5,000 from the Autzen Foundation. Thanks to the support of these Foundations, we can provide more mentoring relationships to youth throughout the Central Oregon community.

Our New Home!

bigbrotherbigsister — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:35:47 +0000

On Monday, January 5, 2009, BBBSCO‘s Bend office moved into their new space at the Deschutes Children’s Foundation East Bend Campus located at 2125 Daggett Lane. Ten resident programs will benefit from rent-free space and shared expenses at the new 13,000 square foot building.

Since 1990, Deschutes Children’s Foundation has endeavored to support exceptional services for children and families in Central Oregon. The four DCF campuses – the Rosie Bareis Community Campus in Bend, East Bend Campus, Lapine Community Campus, and the Becky Johnson Community Center in Redmond – are home to 34 nonprofit service agencies. Resident programs save an estimated $700,000 a year, putting critical dollars to work for children and families.

The Beautiful East Bend Campus!

2008 Giving Tree

bigbrotherbigsister — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:18:13 +0000

TJ & Tiffany

Thanks to the Silver Eagles Harley Davidson Group, US Bank (3rd and Reed Mkt. location) and the Redmond Dollar Tree, Big Brothers Big Sisters was able to bring joy to many kids this holiday season. In Deschutes County, BBBS Staff delivered gifts to 18 families, which was a total of 39 kids! If that wasn’t impressive enough, each child received on average 5 gifts each!

Each year the Silver Eagles Harley Davidson Group gets together and has a big Christmas party. This year, instead of exchanging gifts Secret Santa style, they decided to all bring toys to donate to some of the kids in our program. They collected awesome gifts such as a bike, scooters, a skateboard, dolls and many toys and games!

For the second year in a row, US Bank helped us bring smiles to many kids this Christmas by putting up a giving tree in their store, which allowed us to get kids specific items, such as winter clothes. And the Redmond Dollar Tree collected over 100 stuffed animals and toys to deliver to children in our program!

Each and every family was so appreciative and thankful for everyone’s kindness and generosity and here at Big Brothers Big Sisters we would like to thank everyone involved for making a big difference in the lives of so many children this holiday season!

A BIG thank you to the Harley Davidson Silver Eagles!

Aspen and Christine

bigbrotherbigsister — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:00:35 +0000

Aspen and Christine were so excited to be at Smith Rock together and enjoyed hanging out in the nice weather with the other matches, many of whom were familiar faces. They both have asthma and struggled a bit with the hikes in and out of the climb site, but they were laughing and joking around even though they were out of breath! Aspen is a little afraid of heights and it took her quite a while to build up the courage to attempt a climb, and she only made it up the route about 8 feet, but it was a huge accomplishment for her. Christine conquered the toughest out of three climbs while Aspen cheered her on – she was so proud of her Big Sis! The two are very, very close and have a genuine love and respect for each other. It is very clear that Christine plays an important role in Aspen’s development as a child, now more than ever since her mother has been struggling with many health issues.