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March is National Reading Month, and this year we are so excited to be celebrating with local author, Makiah Shipp, who will be coming to our office in Ypsilanti on March 17th to read for our matches and sign copies of her book Makiah’s Show and Tell!
Makiah is a student at the University of Michigan and an award-winning Civic Engagement activist. She was recently named one of the Skillman Foundation’s 20 Black Detroiters Making History, was recognized as the 2020 Detroit Rotary Youth Citizen of the Year and the 2020 Detroit Speaks 20 under 20 award recipient, and has worked as a field organizer and youth outreach coordinator for Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Makiah’s primary focus, however, remains empowering young Black girls, which is what led to her writing Makiah’s Show and Tell. This beautiful picture book “tells the story of an elementary school aged Black girl who passionately teaches others about the significance of Black natural hair in Black culture. She reminds those around her of how important it is to be conscious of how they talk about and/or interact with her hair to avoid being microaggressive and inappropriate. This picture book provides Black girls with a guide-book style story to reinforce their confidence and encourage them to properly educate those around them. It also allows other agents in society (family members, friends, teachers, etc.) to understand how their behaviors and racial biases contribute to others' potential adoption of harmful self-perceptions.” [source: https://www.makiahshipp.com/] We were thrilled when Makiah reached out to us about hosting a book signing and donation event. “I have been familiar with BBBS for some time now and I appreciate the mentorship opportunities that they create and the inclusive community that they foster. I hope that our collaboration speaks to the powerful work that we are each continuing to do.”, she told us, and we have the same hope! Our collaborative event will be taking place in our office at 11 W Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti, on Friday, March 17th, from 6-8 pm. We hope to see you there! Makiah's Contact Info Order Makiah's Show and Tell  As we celebrate Black History Month across the US, we wanted to take a moment and spotlight some of the Black History events happening right here in our own backyard. From art exhibits to open mic nights to historical discussions, there are plenty of wonderful ways to celebrate in Washtenaw County. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Where: Online l Zoom info: Meeting ID 378 111 0170 Passcode YpsiStrong Description: Chat with professionals that grew up in the 48197 and 48198 zip codes and now have amazing careers through hard work, dedication, and community! Featuring Kid Jay, Tashauna Hall, Jesse Davis, Lorenzo Brown, Brian Jones-Chance, Kenya Glover, Crystal Lyte, and Travis Willis. Brought to you by the YCS Black History Month Speaker Series
Where: Ann Arbor District Library Westgate Branch Description: The Great Migration transformed America’s cultural landscape, impacting cities and towns across the nation, including Detroit and Washtenaw County. Participants will learn about the exodus of more than 6 million African Americans from the deep South to the North, Midwest, and West Coast between 1910-1970. Attendees will view highlights of the Intergenerational Dialogue on the Great Migration, which captured the oral histories of local older adults whose families migrated from the South. *The Great Migration: Millions Moved is also open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 4pm at the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County through March 26th, 2023*
Where: Online l Check this page 15 minutes before event for Zoom info Description: In her book Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine, Kelley Fanto Deetz draws upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond. Deetz's talk focuses on enslaved cooks at Virginia plantations including Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and George Washington's Mount Vernon. She restores these forgotten figures to their rightful place in American and Southern history. This event is in partnership with the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.
Where: Neutral Zone Description: Attention Teens! Come to NZ for our Celebrating Black Culture event! Join for this Black culture themed open mic, hip-hop cypher and art showcase
Where: Ypsilanti District Library, Whittaker Branch Description: During this event, watch an interview with Dr. Carol Anderson, professor of African American Studies at Emory University about her book "The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America". After the viewing, La'Ron Williams, local storyteller and peace activist, will facilitate an open, honest discussion about race and racism.
Where: Online Description: Narrative Histories of Black Community Building in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, 1920s-1970s. This project features five narrative histories of Black communal, institutional and political life in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti from the 1920s through the 1970s. Each account centers a particular topic: experiences of childhood, Black religious institutions, adult education and the importance of Black History, battles over racial inequality in housing, and Black Power institution building. The project builds upon and honors the storytellers and institutions that have long centered Black communities in the history of Washtenaw County (indeed, you can find a list of those important institutions and projects on the homepage). While students drew from the rich collections of the Bentley, they also relied significantly upon digitized materials from the Ypsilanti Historical Society, Ann Arbor District Library and the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County (AACHM). Five undergraduate fellows (Krista Albetins, Isabella Buzynski, Paige Hodder, Miriam Saperstein and Bennett Walling) collaborated with Greg Parker (Public Engagement Manager), Eshe Sherley (Doctoral Candidate, History) and UM Assistant Professor Jennifer Dominique Jones, Ph.D to create a public history project that expands the topical scope of the Michigan in the World Program. Given the reverberations of COVID 19, a significant portion of the Bentley Historical Library’s holdings had to be digitized prior to the start of the program. Sarah McLusky and Cinda Nofziger generously helped to survey the collections, while Brian Williams shared his expertise about and access to African American Alumni files. The digitization team scanned newspaper articles, photographs, correspondence, organizational records and a very fragile scrapbook from the 1930s so that students could access the documents remotely. Their labor and generosity combined with the generous support of Terry McDonald, Director of the Bentley- was instrumental to the project’s success Click Here to View Exhibit For more information on local Black History Month events, visit Ann Arbor District Library and Ypsilanti District Library. For more information about Black History in Washtenaw County, visit the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County  With National Mentoring Month well under way, we wanted to take a moment to highlight what it takes to be an effective and successful mentor!
Becoming a youth mentor is a proven way to have a positive impact on their lives, with young mentees experiencing lower dropout rates, improved interpersonal skills, decreased likelihood of drug abuse, and enhanced self esteem and self confidence. [Youth.gov], but what’s involved in being a great mentor? Qualities of a Good Mentor Acting as a mentor to a young person involves more than just spending time with them once in a while. Successful mentoring also requires a significant and thoughtful emotional commitment. According to The Balance, the top 5 traits of a great mentor are:
How to Utilize these Qualities How can a mentor put those valuable qualities into practice? Business News Daily explains with their How to Be a Good Mentor list:
2. Practice Empathy According to Brene Brown, “empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong wayto do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘You’re not alone.’” Empathy helps build connection in relationships, and feeling connected to trusted adults Is necessary for a young person’s optimal well being, helping them feel valued, loved, And cared for. 3. Let Your Mentee Make Decisions Allowing young people to make their own decisions, with guidance as needed to ensure their safety, goes a long way in helping them build confidence in themselves and their ability to navigate their own lives. This sense of confidence will then go on and help them make healthy, thoughtful choices throughout their lives. 4. Work on Becoming a Positive Role Model While perfection is of course impossible and not a requirement to being a successful youth mentor, mentors who are open and honest about their own personal growth and development with their mentees teach them that life is always a work in progress and that mistakes are a natural part of growth. This is a fantastic month to get involved in a youth mentoring relationship and there are so many wonderful young people waiting for their very own Big mentor, through both our community and our school based match programs. Interested in helping to improve the life of one of them? Give us a call at 734-975-0933 or sign up for a volunteer info session today! Tis the Season! On Sunday, December 18th, University of Michigan student athletics, along with local Ann Arbor businesses, sent several of our Littles on a holiday shopping spree so that they could buy gifts for their families, with a wrapping party afterwards!
In the spirit of holiday giving, Amir and Alexus Rad of Thrive Training Facility, Flex Lex Treats, University of Michigan Football Quarterback JJ McCarthy and Wrestling Captain, Mason Parris, along with Coach, Sean Bormet, generously donated more than $8,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw County (BBBS) to help provide kids in the program with an unforgettable holiday and the opportunity to give back to their own families. Over 30 kids in the BBBS program received a $150 gift card to use at the store of their choosing, and were accompanied by their Big Brother or Big Sister on their shopping spree. Afterwards, everyone gathered at Thrive Training Facility in Ann Arbor for lunch and gift wrapping. Additional funds from this generous donation have been used to support BBBS’ Adopt-a-Family program and assemble "Helping Baskets", which are laundry baskets filled with practical household items like cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, toothbrushes, and other personal items. BBBS is so grateful to everyone who helped make this magical day happen for our Littles! We have some exciting news to share with you! Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw was recently awarded a grant through Children Trust Michigan that will enable us to implement a wonderful new program for our families called Keep Connected!
Children Trust Michigan (CTM) focuses solely on financially supporting a variety of agencies across the state that are involved in preventing child abuse and neglect and the Keep Connected program is designed to provide famlies with the foundational support that is so important to a young person’s growth, learning, and well-being. As their website states,Keep Connected “offers all kinds of families—and organizations that support them—ideas, activities, and experiences to help build strong family relationships. Our goal is to strengthen family relationships to help kids be and become their best selves.” With this funding, BBBS program staff will be able to attend the Keep Connected Institute for Strengthening Family Relationships and become trained facilitators in providing the ideas, activities, and experiences that Keep Connected utilizes in their quest to help build stronger family relationships and help kids become the best versions of themselves they can be. Our staff will then take this training and use it as they work with a trusted panel of parent advisors to develop an engagement, implementation, and evaluation plan for our upcoming Keep Connected Family Nights. In addition to the training of our existing staff, this grant has also enabled us to bring a new Family Engagement Coordinator on board to oversee all aspects of this new program and we are thrilled to announce that we have hired Keyera North to fill this position! Keyera is an Ypsilanti native with a solid background in family development and support and says she is looking forward to serving and working with the youth, families, and community members through the Keep Connected program. We are so happy to have Keyera as part of our team and are looking forward to utilizing the Keep Connected training to facilitate the growth of our beloved BBBS families in the upcoming year!  With National Mental Health Day occuring earlier this week, we wanted to take a moment and highlight some of the proven mental health benefits of being connected with a carefully selected adult mentor can lead to improved mental health in young people.
The last few years especially have highlighted the importance of mental health awareness, especially in children and teens. The CDC states that almost 50% of young people have experienced feelings of persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness in the last 12 months, and just under 40% have experienced poor mental health during the Covid pandemic years. Having a strong network of people in their lives who support them unconditionally goes a long way in helping youth manage the stressors of daily life and the mental health challenges they may bring. In a study conducted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a significant percentage of former Littles reported that their experiences with their Bigs left them feeling better about themselves, helped them go on to lead fulfilling adult lives, and aided them in establishing healthy and satisfying relationships. A Deeper Look Measuring mental health doesn’t just involve the presence or lack of sadness, anxiety, or fear. It also includes looking at how comfortable a person feels with themselves, others, and moving around in the world around them. According to this Guider article, having a reliable adult mentor (Big) in their lives benefits the mental health and well being of kids in a multitude of ways, including:
A Youth.gov study found that having a Big reduces the risk of a child getting involved in illegal drug and alcohol use and drastically decreases the chance of them acting out violently and destructively. Having a mentor has also been shown to increase social and emotional skills development in kids, improve their relationships with their parents, and encourage them to pursue higher education goals, all of which definitely contribute to a young person’s mental health. Benefits for mentors The young person involved in a stable mentoring relationship is not the only one to benefit. The mentor can also experience significant improvement in their well being, including an increased sense of self esteem, accomplishment, and patience, as well as deeper insight into and understanding of their own experiences as a young person. Helping to improve their mental health and well being is just one of the many valuable reasons to become a mentor to a child. There are also so many wonderful young people waiting for their very own Big mentor, through both our community and our school based match programs. Interested in helping to improve the life of one of them? Give us a call at 734-975-0933 or sign up for a volunteer info session today!  We are so excited to announce that we are partnering with Eastern Michigan University to bring you the NEW and IMPROVED BE the Difference 5K! Coming your way on October 1st at the EMU Factory, this year’s race is BIGGER and BETTER than ever!
WHAT’S NEW There are lots of new and exciting changes and additions to our 2022 race, including:
OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Interested in getting involved without participating in the race? We have options for that, too! If you are an individual and would like to support the Big Brothers Big Sisters/EMU BE collaborative race, please donate here. If you are a business and would like to be an event sponsor, we have several sponsorship levels available, including:
Recognition on the 5k we bsite, Facebook event, and in the BBBS newsletter. Promotional Items in the race packet and in the VIP End Zone Party during the Homecoming Game.
Second-tier logo placement on all print marketing pieces, including the t-shirts. Recognition on the 5k website, Facebook event, and in the BBBS newsletter Promotional Items in the race packet and in the VIP End Zone Party during the Homecoming Game.
A start/finish line booth at the 5k event on Oct 1st. Top-tier logo placement on all print marketing pieces, including the t-shirts. Recognition on the 5k website, Facebook event, and in the BBBS newsletter Public thanks from the starting line. Promotional Items in the race packet and in the VIP End Zone Party during the Homecoming Game. No matter how you want to get involved in this year’s 5k,, don’t delay! Register or donate TODAY! We can’t wait to see you at Rynearson Stadium on October 1st at 7:30am! Last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw County launched our school based program to much success. This year, we are excited to announce that not only is the program returning, it’s expanding, providing the community with even more ways to become involved in BBBS! The response to last year’s program was higher than expected, so our needs have also increased. We had eleven 2nd-4th grade Littles matched to a Big last year and 13 additional kids on the waiting list, and our hope for 2022-2023 is to find Bigs for those waitlist students and match an additional 60 children from the 2nd to 9th grades.
Why become a Big? To change a young life for the better in concrete ways! According to youth.gov, having a close, one on one relationship with a reliable adult mentor benefits school age children in a multitude of ways, including increased high school graduation rates, increased school attendance, higher college enrollment rates, stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, and increased self esteem and confidence. These relationships also benefit the mentor, with adult volunteers experiencing an increased understanding of youth and dedication to their well being, increased self esteem, and a greater sense of community connection, making the Big/Little relationship a win all around. Our school based program options are also an excellent way to become a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor without having to invest quite as much time and planning as being a community based Big requires. Interested in becoming involved? Here are our three school based mentoring program options: Lunch Buddies Lunch Buddies is our original school based program and focuses on Bigs spending 45 minutes per week visiting their Little at school, having lunch, answering ice breaker questions, and playing a game or going outside together. The pilot program ran in Estabrook Elementary school during the 2022-2022 school year and this year will also run at Erickson Elementary. Big Buddies Our new Big Buddies program is similar to Lunch Buddies, only rather than matching elementary students with an Adult mentor from the community, we’re matching them with a local High School student. This is a wonderful opportunity for younger students to bond with older students closer to their age and get a glimpse into what their own educational futures might look like. It also gives the older students a chance to develop their own socioemotional learning, executive functioning, and feelings of accomplishment and self esteem. Big Buddies will run exclusively in Estabrook Elementary during this school year. MentorU We are also launching a new MentorU program for the 2022-2023 school year. This program will focus on matching 9th grade students from Ypsilanti High School with a community based mentor who will visit them weekly to discuss and explore their college and career plans. Becoming a mentor to a school aged youth is a fantastic way to positively impact not just their lives, but yours as well, and with the new school year quickly approaching, there’s no time like the present to get involved! If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, email Rachel.Sulkowski@BBBSWashtenaw.org, call 734-217-4550, or sign up for an informational session by clicking here  BIG Fun is Coming With the Big Little Fair!
This month, BBBS of Washtenaw is so excited to spotlight our upcoming Big Little Fair, which will take place all around Ypsilanti from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, September 10th! This city wide family friendly event will feature interactive exhibits highlighting information from affordable Washtenaw County summer camps and programs, circus and theater performances, live music, a variety of delicious foods, beautiful art, and much, much more! Some of this year’s highlights include: THE PARENT'S PLAZA Visit the parent’s plaza located in the YDL courtyard & parking lot to learn about local organizations that center on supporting parents in our community. The plaza will also include fun youth activities, summer reading sign ups, and much more. Full line up and schedule coming soon! YOUTH CENTER & LOVE IS LOVE INTERACTIVE ART SHOW Stop by the Riverside Arts Center for interactive exhibits that showcase affordable youth summer camps and programs, including mini dance and theater workshops, musical and theatrical performances. While you’re there, check out the Love is Love Exhibition in the RAC Gallery, which features 10-11 fun and interactive selfie stations that represent the mission of local organizations that support and encourage love in our community, no matter what form it takes.Full line up and schedule coming soon! FOOD TRUCK RALLY Feeling a little hungry after all of that fun? Take a short stroll down N. Adams St, to enjoy a Food Truck Rally in the parking lot of The YPSI, a performance space and community center. Full line up and schedule coming soon! PARTNERS, VENDORS, AND PERFORMERS There will also be a wonderfully wide variety of vendors, partners, and performing groups participating in this year’s Fair, including: Riverside Arts Center Bichini Bia Congo Dance Theater Black Men Read Center Stage Productions The Corner Health Center University of Michigan School of Dentistry Biology Outreach Team uniteSTEM Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra Ring of Steel School of Rock The 2022 Big Little Fair is shaping up to be a full day of fun, food, and family and we can’t wait to see you there! Special thank yous go out to True Community Credit Union and Ypsilanti District Library for being Presenting Sponsors for this year’s Fair. |
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