Mimosa Students Find Friends in Verizon Wireless Employees

Sixteen students gained a Big Brother or Big Sister on Wednesday, Sept. 14, giving each of them their own mentor, with some help from Verizon Wireless.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA) kicked off its school-based mentoring program for the 2011-2010 academic year at in Roswell.

Through the partnership, 16 Verizon Wireless employee "bigs" were matched with their " littles" during a pizza party in the school's library.

The employees, who work at the company's Deerfield Parkway campus in Milton and its Sanctuary Parkway offices in Alpharetta, have committed to volunteer one-hour a week throughout the school year, will serve as a mentor to children ranging from 3rd to 6th grade.

Mimosa Principal Lynn Johnson is excited about what this means for the students. She says that while it depends on the child, improvement is usually shown right away.

"This is a different relationship than they have with their teacher. They are eager to show off to their big and look forward to the weekly visits," says Johnson.

There were plenty of activities to help make the transition from acquaintance to friend easier, beginning with an "Ice Breaker" exercise where "bigs" and "littles" got to know each other a little better by sharing more about themselves.

Next, Match Contracts were signed making the formal commitment to invest the time and energy into fostering a relationship over the coming months. A Match Plan was also discussed, where mentors established what areas their "littles" may need help with in school.

Verizon Wireless Retail Director Michelle Miller is participating for the first time with the Big Sisters Big Brothers program and is excited about making a difference in a child's life.

"I've been wanting to get involved and volunteer and working with kids comes natural for me," says Miller.

Nine-year-old Shania Shannon is excited about having Michelle as a big sister, and after their first meeting boasts, "My big sister is very fun."

After an hour, Miller already knows that her little sister likes reading, swimming and soccer and looks forward to their weekly meetings and learning how she can challenge Shania to reach her full potential.

This is also the first time that Big Brothers Big Sisters will be introducing its Mentoring Towards College (MTC) program at both the school base and corporate levels.

Many children have the opportunity to become first generation college attendees in their family. The MTC program helps prepare them for that possibility by getting them excited about college at a young age as well as equipping them with the tools to achieve that goal.

According to the program's director of marketing, Miranda Bryen, 75 percent of "bigs" in the metro Atlanta area are college educated and can help give their "littles" the same opportunity by fostering an interest in higher education early on.

During the meeting, The Verizon Foundation also presented a check for $18,000 to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program to ensure future success.

While monetary donations are a big help, the Big Brothers Big Sisters program is also in need of volunteers. If you are interested in giving of your time or would like to learn more about the program, call 404-601-7000 or visit BBBSATL.org.