Season’s greetings! Thank you to all of our Bigs, Littles, families, community partners, staff, and Board members who celebrated with us at the Holiday Party at the James Island County Park Festival of Lights and the BIG Lowcountry Boil at Holy City Brewing. We are ending the year feeling grateful to all of you who help power our mission of creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth, and we wish you all a beautiful holiday season filled with peace, love, and joy. Check out pictures from the BIG Lowcountry Boil, December Holida Movie Nights at Ritual (a great idea for matches!) and enjoy several end-of-year updates in the December 2024 BIG News — we’ll look forward to seeing you all again in 2025!
Movie Mondays at Ritual are a great low-cost activity for matches to enjoy during the holiday season! Here’s what to do if you’re interested:
- RSVP via email: rehanna@bbbslowcountry.org
- Tables will be reserved depending on the number of RSVPs to make sure attendees from our end have a secured spot.
- There will be free hot chocolate & popcorn for everyone in a winter wonderland-themed environment, complete with “igloo” seating areas!
- Entry is FREE
An Update from The BIG Beyond
Our BIG Beyond scholars have had a busy semester! BIG Beyond Scholars started the month of November with BIG Beyond Youth Council campaign speeches and elections. Scholars attended at least two public speaking sessions with Dr. Sean Fourney, Director of the Patricia McArver Public Speaking Lab and Quad Talkers Advisor for The Citadel. Scholars presented their speeches with confidence and professionalism, gaining their colleagues’ attention and creating tight margins between running mates.
The sophomore cohort attended a November 12 BIG Beyond College Tour Experience, the first of its kind for many scholars. It served as an introduction to college life and the specific program offerings which align with their interests. The sophomore cohort expressed enthusiasm for attending future college tours with advanced STEM and digital programs. During the College Tour Experience, sophomores were introduced to best practices for time management and efficient methods for keeping a schedule based on personal preferences and balancing life, work, and academic responsibilities.
On November 20, junior and senior scholars merged their sessions to continue developing their resumes and cover letters with best AI practices during a mini workshop with Ms. Tara White. Key points included the benefits of using ChatGPT for generating a resume or cover letter, how to edit templates with content specific to your skills and accomplishments, understanding plagiarism, and using AI as a resource tool — not a primary method — to complete work or assignments.
Finally, scholars completed their BIG Beyond Service Learning Project at the Lowcountry Food Bank. Time was well-spent completing the task of assembling boxes of goods for senior citizens. In fact, scholars and fellow volunteers worked so diligently that they made double their production target for the day!
