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Khalia Free, of Piqua, volunteered her time with Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Shelby & Darke County through Edison State Community
College's Business Capstone Service Learning Initiatives Project.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
BBBS partners with Edison State business
students
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County is excited to
announce their recent partnership with Edison State Community College
students for their Business Capstone Service Learning Initiatives
Project. As part of course requirements, students were expected
to volunteer their time to local non-profit organizations to help with
a particular project. “Each student contributes approximately
15-20 hours to the project, allowing them to apply discipline-specific
business skills and improve their communication, interpersonal, and
analytical skills as they give back to the community,” said Ruth
Barney, Professor of Marketing and Business Capstone Instructor.
Drew Sosby, Khalia Free, and Kristen Ross chose to volunteer their time
with Big Brothers Big Sisters and lent their expertise in various
areas. Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director, Jennifer
Bruns, stated, “This was our first year having Edison State’s Business
Capstone students participate with our agency. I was pleasantly
surprised with the benefit we received from the students who
participated. They were so eager and willing to help in any way that
was needed. Being a non-profit, we function through an
all-hands-on-deck approach, and the students did exactly that.
They were professional, caring, organized, took direction well, and
easy to work with. I appreciate them and the partnership with
Edison, and I look forward to future opportunities.” Big Brothers Big
Sisters requested students to help with planning, implementing, and
executing their two annual fundraisers: Bowl for Kids’ Sake, which was
held on March 1 & 2, and their 13th Annual Duck Derby &
Duck-N-Run 5K which is coming up on June 20th. Students were
evaluated based on their effort level, professionalism, communication,
and the agency’s overall satisfaction with the completion of the
project.
Drew Sosby, a Jackson Center resident and graduate, took a different
approach to the project and actually made a long-term commitment to
being a Lunch Buddy at Jackson Center Local Schools. Lunch
Buddies is a one-to-one mentoring program where adult volunteers are
matched with a 2nd or 3rd grade student. Volunteers eat lunch with the
students, assist with school work, and play games all while building a
positive friendship. Lunch Buddies students are referred by their
teacher, school guidance counselor, or other school personnel.
Lunch Buddies takes place every Wednesday throughout the academic
school year for approximately 30 minutes during the student's lunch
break. Drew stated, “The main reason I wanted to be a Lunch Buddy
was because I feel like it is important to give back to your community
and it is important to become involved in something that has made a
difference in your life”. Khalia summed her experience up as well
by stating, “The price of greatness is responsibility”. All three
students will graduate from Edison State Community College in May.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a non-profit United Way partner
agency. If you would like to become an event sponsor, donor,
volunteer, or learn more about how you can make a difference in a
child’s life, contact our local agency at 937-492-7611, 937-547-9622,
or go to www.bigbrobigsis-shelbydarke.org for more information.
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