'Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Long Island' in desperate need of male volunteers
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- "Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Long Island," a mentoring organization between adults and children, is in desperate need of male volunteers to serve as Big Brothers.
The organization has approximately 200 boys on the waiting list.
"You can positively impact the life of one of the boys on Long Island with four hours a month," External Program Relations Manager Chuck Lott said. "You go grab some food, you go to a game, you go to the park, that's it. That's all we need to really make a huge impact on the kids that we have across Long Island."
Ni-ima said her 14-year-old son has been matched with a Big Sister for the past seven years due to the lack of Big Brothers.
Her 7-year old son Kaymauri was on the wait list for about six months and was matched with a Big Brother last week.
"It takes a village to raise a child, and we need good men to be positive role models," Ni-ima said.
Kaymauri said he's looking forward to hanging out with his new Big Brother, Doug.
"We both like pizza and we both like sports," Kaymauri said.
Lott said the organization is seeing the opposite trend with Big Sisters - so many women are willing to volunteer, there's a wait list to become a Big Sister.
He said the group has been meeting with organizations all over Long Island to recruit Big Brothers, including trade organizations, civic groups and local businesses.
Kaymauri said he hopes more men will volunteer.
"Everybody just can't have a Big Sister" he said.
If you're interested in becoming a Big Brother, visit https://bbbsli.org/become-a-big.
WABC-TV is sponsoring a fundraiser fashion show for "Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Long Island" Thursday, May 2 at Lord & Taylor in Garden City.
The "Catwalk for Kids" will feature Bigs and their Littles walking the runway in fashions provided by Lord & Taylor.
For more information, visit https://bbbsli.org/upcoming-events/ .
Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne, who reported on this story, sits on the President's Council of "Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island."
----------
