Happy National Mentoring Month! Following MLK Day, we’re thinking of a quote Rev. Dr. King once shared: Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.
While it’s true that anyone can do something nice for their fellow humans, we know that it takes a special, thoughtful, and committed person to serve as a youth mentor. Your investment in the promise and potential of your Little matters and makes a difference.
With that said, we want to celebrate you this month! In addition to our BIG Appreciation Party, where we will announce 3 Bigs of the Year, we’re challenging you to compete with your Little in a National Mentoring Month BINGO competition, with a $50 restaurant gift card prize to the winner! Plus, we’re sharing opportunities to attend free and fun mentor appreciation events and officially re-launching our BIG Boat Raffle campaign!
It’s a new year, and we’re making BIG waves. Thanks for being a part of our important work!
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| Play BINGO to win a $50 restaurant gift card Register to attend: BIG Appreciation Party Enter to win: the BIG Boat Raffle is back! Snafu Brewing makes a toast to mentoring Free January & February events Apply to be our next Program Director! | Latest and greatest from the BIG Beyond Summer internship: Apply by 01/17 Financial wellness programs: Give feedback Monday Motivation: The Power of Mattering Reach out to your match coordinator Free/low-cost kids meal options |
Compete in National Mentoring Month BINGO for a $50 Restaurant Gift Card!
Looking for ways to get involved in National Mentoring Month this January? Check out our National Mentoring Month BINGO card! For the month of January, Big and Littles can check items off of their BINGO card and submit winning entries for a grand prize — a $50 gift card to the restaurant of your choice! (Big + Little will agree upon a restaurant)
Submit your card to megan@bbbslowcountry.org by January 31, and we will announce the winning match in our February 2024 BIG News
Announcing the Bigs of the Year…
All Bigs (+ one guest) are invited to enjoy fellowship, food, and a beer on us! We will recognize three (3) Bigs of the Year, our committee and board volunteers, and ALL our remarkable Bigs.
As we prepare for the event, we invite you to RSVP at your earliest convenience so that we may build an accurate head count.
Make big waves in 2024!
The BIG Boat Raffle is back! This year’s boat is fully loaded with T-Top and DEKit boat flooring.
Retail value of $55,000
Includes Westco trailer
ALL TAXES PAID!
A $100 ticket = 1 entry
NO LIMITS on the # of tickets you can purchase — the more you buy, the better your odds of winning!
Please help us spread the word — all funds go directly to our program and toward our mission of creating and supporting 335 mentoring matches in 2024!
Check out Snafu Brewing all January long to sip for a cause!
Raise your glass to mentoring!
Our friends at Snafu Brewing Company are celebrating with a special release: 
The Role Model Fruit Roll-Up! 
This unique sour brew, infused with oats and milk sugar, is conditioned on watermelon puree, watermelon Italian ice, and sour green apple drink mix. But here’s the best part – 50% of all proceeds of The Role Model will go to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry!
FREE January Events
- JANUARY 1-31 // Museum Mile Month LEARN MORE
- JANUARY 20 // Charleston Half Marathon (Youth Marathon) LEARN MORE
- JANUARY 20 // Taste of New England Food Truck Festival LEARN MORE
- JANUARY 25 // Free Verse Poetry Workshop with Marcus Amaker LEARN MORE
SAVE THE DATE February Events
Join us from 12-3 PM in North Charleston for a fun-filled day of board games and video games! There will be plenty of options for you to choose from, so you can enjoy your favorite games with your Little. There is a 17-match limit for this event; Bigs register themselves AND their little (select 2 tickets as you register)
February 3: Video games & board games at Dorchester County Library
We can’t wait to see you for friendly competition and teamwork!
February 10: Be Our Valentine Service Party
Need to complete service hours? We are recruiting 10 matches (limit) to help us assemble donor thank-you gifts, including potting plants and writing sweet notes. Matches who join will enjoy Valentine’s snacks and receive boxed valentines to share with friends and loved ones! Hosted at our NEW office at 3324 Rivers Avenue, Suite 101, North Charleston, SC 29405.
Bigs can participate for 10% off and Littles and their families are FREE. It is a 5K, but it can be a run/walk. Codes are as follows:
- Bigs: BBBS2024
- Littles/Families: WWFREE2024
February 17: BBBSL Oyster Roast
It’s Oyster Roast season, and Bohemian Bull is turning up the heat. Come out and join us for an oyster roast to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry on Saturday, February 17, from 12 pm to 4 pm. Your $30 ticket gets you endless oysters, BBQ, and sides.
Seeking our next Program Director!
Joining BBBSL as its Program Director offers a unique opportunity to make a profound impact on our community’s youth. As the Program Director, you will lead initiatives that foster meaningful mentorship relationships, empowering young individuals to reach their fullest potential.
If you read our job description and you feel energized by the mission, vision, and responsibilities of this very critical and exciting role, we can’t wait to hear from you! Please email your resume to ssoutherland@innovatehcs.com. We look forward to connecting with you very soon!
Summer Internship Opportunity: Apply by January 17!
Every summer, our local Bank of America representatives select a number of students to participate in PAID summer internships with local nonprofits. Should your child/Little/Scholar be interested, please encourage them to complete this application by the January 17 deadline. This opportunity to students currently enrolled in the Charleston County School District.
Featured in this program are the following:
- 8-week PAID internship with a local nonprofit
- A paid week-long trip in D.C.
Financial Wellness Program: Give feedback to the City of CHS
The City of Charleston is looking to provide financial wellness programming for the community to help residents set and achieve their own financial goals. To ensure the topic offered meet the needs of the community, the City is seeking YOUR FEEDBACK to let them know what topics are most important to YOU and to let them know how best to offer the workshops. Historically, these workshops are offered through banking partners, Increasing H.O.P.E., or Origin SC.
If you have any questions about the survey, feel free to reach out to Mindy Sturm at sturmM@charleston-sc.gov, or by phone at 843-965-4190.
Please click the image to launch video.
🎆 First, Happy New Year. Second, Happy National Mentoring Month! In celebration of this month, AND of your service as a Big, this Motivational Monday installment focuses on helping your Littles/Scholars remember WHY THEY MATTER. Why? Well, MATTERING MATTERS MOST.
Right now, I’m listening to an audiobook: “Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic –And What We Can Do About It.” The author highlights how important understanding one’s worth and being reminded of one’s strengths is important to kids—OUTSIDE of their accomplishments. Academic and extra-curricular achievement isn’t AS PREDICTIVE of success and well-being as is FEELING ONE MATTERS. Understanding their STRENGTHS is key to this sense of intrinsic value. YOU can be part of helping them discover this value. In it, the author shares the following:
- We need people in our lives who we can be vulnerable to, who we can open up to, who we feel unconditionally loved and supported. Not only are they like a receptacle for our stresses and absorb the shocks of life’s ups and downs, but they also remind us of our values, our value, and our unconditional worth.
- When we feel like we matter for who we are at our core, we show up to the world in ways that are so positive. We want to add value. We want to be a great neighbor. We want to achieve because we want to make a positive impact on the world.
- Unlocking other people’s mattering makes us feel like we matter. It’s the human experience. It’s these small mattering moments that say, “I see you. I value you. And you add value to my life.” In any moment, we can make someone feel like they matter.
