Operation Bigs, a program of Big Brothers Big Sisters, is a one-on-one mentoring program serving the children of active-duty, veteran, and fallen service members by offering them mentors who can provide an added layer of support during deployment, transition or loss. Operation Bigs is actively recruiting volunteers to serve as Big Brothers/Sister across San Diego County. Currently, there are six boys and five girls who have been waiting up to 6 months (and one for nearly a year) for Big Brothers or Big Sisters at the Coronado site at Silver Strand Elementary. Volunteers can be civilian and military, from ages 18 to 85, who have a heart for military children and a desire to give back to those who serve our country.
Melissa, a parent of two children in the program said, “Operation Bigs has helped me as a mother deal with the emotional impact a deployment has on my children. To know they have another adult to go to for some undivided attention has helped me and my children. I do not think the deployment would have gone as smoothly had it not been for Operation Bigs. My son and daughter feel a special connection with their Bigs and they feel appreciated. They love Operation Bigs and really look forward to and rely on it each week.”
Volunteers meet with their Little Brothers/Sisters for one hour, once a week at a school site or community center during the school year. During that hour they play games, sports, and do other fun activities together, while building a friendship. Volunteering as a Big Brother or Big Sister is a great way to make a difference in a child’s life while having fun at the same time!
Since the program began in 2004, Operation Bigs has served more than 1,400 Navy and Marine Corps children. The program operates at eight schools in four communities around San Diego County, including Camp Pendleton, Point Loma, Coronado and Tierrasanta. The need for caring, committed mentors remains urgent for all locations.
Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate or volunteer today at www.SDBigs.org, or call (858) 536-4900.
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About Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County:
For more than 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County has operated under the belief that every child has the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children achieve measurable positive outcomes, including educational success; avoidance of risky behaviors; higher aspirations; greater confidence; and healthier relationships. By partnering with parents and guardians, schools, corporations and other community members, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children (“Littles”) with screened volunteer mentors (“Bigs”) to monitor and support one-to-one mentoring matches that build safe, enduring relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity, often from single or low-income households or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military, with strong, enduring, professionally-supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change lives for the better.
Locally, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves children ages 7-21 through seven distinct programs: Amachi (a program for children with an incarcerated parent), High School Bigs (after school 1:1 mentoring programs), Community Mentoring (the traditional 1:1 mentoring program), Operation Bigs (a program serving children with active military parents), Big Futures (education and career support), Beyond School Walls STEM and Sister2Sister (a workplace mentoring program) and Sports Bigs (a sports and active lifestyle mentoring program). Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate or volunteer today at www.SDBigs.org, or call (858) 536-4900.
