MMA And Big Brothers, Big Sisters Celebrate Match Program
More than two dozen Big and Little matches gathered at Massachusetts Maritime Academy last week for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands’ End of the Year Match Celebration. The ceremony honored 35 Big/Little matches, seven of whom are graduating from both the program and the Academy.
Bigs and Littles gathered with their families, friends, and school and program officials last Thursday, April 4, at the Academy to celebrate the conclusion of this year’s MMA Match Program.
“In Bourne, Wareham, and Onset, where we aren’t able to match as many youth as we would like to because of a lack of mentors, we partner with Massachusetts Maritime Academy, to ensure nearly 50 children have a cadet Big,” said JR Mell, Regional Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands, told the Enterprise. “In this program model, we transport children one day per week after school to the campus to meet with their Big and participate in activities, facilitated by a member of our team.”
Bigs and Littles are usually paired in the fall and work together for the entirety of the program, which wrapped up in April this year due to a change in the Academy’s sea term schedule, as opposed to its typical end date of June. The program mostly focuses on building social and emotional learning, Mr. Mell said, which is achieved through activities that include group projects, games, sports, and one-on-one time on campus.
“This program benefits local youth because it creates a transformational one-to-one mentoring relationship to help them thrive,” Mr. Mell said. “In addition to a transformational one-to-one relationship, it was our belief that by hosting this program model on campus we would expose children to higher education at an earlier age, opening the thought of college to them in elementary and middle school.”
That belief, it seems, has fully materialized into a noticeable and positive impact: following last year’s program, Mr. Mell said, guidance counselors from Wareham Public Schools relayed that interviews with Litters revealed not only how meaningful the bonds formed with the Bigs were, but that most Littles in the program said something to the effect of “I’m thinking about attending Mass Maritime when I’m older.”
“This program benefits local youth because it creates a transformational one-to-one mentoring relationship to help them thrive,” Mr. Mell said.
“Empowering our cadets to serve as mentors in the Big Brother Big Sister program not only enriches the lives of the Littles they support, but also cultivates leadership, empathy, and responsibility in our cadets, fostering a combined partnership of growth and support,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, LPD, President of Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Seven of the 35 matches celebrated at the ceremony are graduating from the program, meaning that the Big will soon be graduating from the Academy. Those matches are: Big Luke Dawson and Little Gerard Gibbs; Big Jessica Hinds and Little Chloe Cobb; Big Molly Larrivee and Little Braylynn Zamprogne; Big Thomas Lanman and Little Rechaun Alavache; Big Domenic Ardizzoni and Little Alexander Flowers; Big Zackery Bohnet and Little Matthew Martin; Big Sean Hanson and Little Kaidyn Murphy.
For more information about the program and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands, visit www.capebigs.org.