Since becoming a Big Couple for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County back in August, we have spent quite a bit of time with our Little Brother. We have taken him bowling, to Celebration Station, to the batting cages, and out for pizza. For the last couple of months, we have been spending Wednesday evenings with him at the library to help him with his school work while he faces some challenges with his grades. We enjoy helping him and he responds well to it. This past Saturday, we had a chance to attend our first official Big Brothers Big Sisters event which we registered for back in early November. It was the Mike Alstott Family Foundation Sports Buddies Day in St. Petersburg. Our Little Brother loves sports – especially football – so we knew this was an event he would really enjoy. The morning started with some football drills. They divided the kids up and each group spent time on the different drills before rotating to the next. Mike Alstott was at the one of the drills, and he interacted with the kids quite a bit.
One of the best moments was when our Little Brother caught a pass from Mike Alstott. You can tell he was having a great time, and maybe showing off for the camera just a little bit…
After all the drills, they managed to get all the kiddos together for a group picture with Mike Alstott. This was not an easy task, but it all worked out in the end! 
They also served lunch and ice cream and let each child choose a Christmas gift! There were many happy kiddos there. Hubby and I really enjoyed the morning. All of our time so far has been spent one on one with our Little, and it was fun to see him interact with other kids and also see him do something he loves – football. He is quite the ham and kept asking me to video him when it was his turn. While they were serving lunch, Mike Alstott was signing autographs. They had given out t-shirts at the event, so our Little Brother had that signed.
His mom spent the morning there as well, with her daughter who is also in the Big Brother Big Sisters program. It’s been fun getting to know them as well. We also have a picture of the three of us to share, with his mom’s permission, of course… 
Such a fun day! Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great organization, and everyone who is involved is focused on the children. We look forward to more events and continuing to spend time with our Little Brother. It has already been a very rewarding experience. Have you ever been a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters or a similar organization?
