Hollar Selected As State ‘Big Of The Year’ For 2022
February 27, 2023 at 7:07 p.m.
Hollar Selected As State ‘Big Of The Year’ For 2022
By Staff Report-
Hollar and Schmidt are volunteers with the local Northeast Indiana agency, which serves 13 counties, including Allen and Kosciusko.
Each year, a single Big Brother and Big Sister are selected from across the entire state to be honored as “Big of the Year.” For Hollar and Schmidt, this honor is long overdue, according to a news release from BBBS.
Matched in 2015 through the “School Buddies” program, Hollar volunteered to meet with a local child once a week during school lunch. During this time, Hollar formed a bond with his School Buddy Chris, helped him with homework and became a trusted confidant.
Schmidt was matched the same year with her School Buddy Jenna, who needed help with reading and self-esteem.
In time, both Hollar and Schmidt transitioned to the community-based program with their Littles. The two matches have been meeting regularly ever since, and Hollar even attended Chris’ high school graduation in 2022.
Meanwhile, Schmidt is helping Little Sister Jenna prepare for college, with dreams to someday star on Broadway, leaving her self-esteem issues in the dust.
As per the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission, Hollar and Schmidt have worked hard to defend and ignite their Littles’ potential by helping them keep their grades up and look into job opportunities that fit their interests, the release states.
“I’m very grateful for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program,” said the mother of Little Brother Chris. “It’s a life-saving program. It helps the boys and it helps the single parents, too. As time goes by, it trickles down to help the whole community. I will be forever grateful for Big Brothers Big Sisters being in my life.”
As the next step of the Big of the Year process, Hollar and Schmidt will be nominated for National Big of the Year. In the past 12 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana has won three National Big of the Year awards, and in 2021, its Big Sister of the Year and Big Brother of the Year both hailed from Kosciusko County, with honors going to Big Couple Terry and Sherry Milton as well as Big Sister Wanda Tiltges.
Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. For 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that the ability to succeed and thrive in life is inherent in all children. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. To learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate or volunteer at www.BBBSNEI.org.
Hollar and Schmidt are volunteers with the local Northeast Indiana agency, which serves 13 counties, including Allen and Kosciusko.
Each year, a single Big Brother and Big Sister are selected from across the entire state to be honored as “Big of the Year.” For Hollar and Schmidt, this honor is long overdue, according to a news release from BBBS.
Matched in 2015 through the “School Buddies” program, Hollar volunteered to meet with a local child once a week during school lunch. During this time, Hollar formed a bond with his School Buddy Chris, helped him with homework and became a trusted confidant.
Schmidt was matched the same year with her School Buddy Jenna, who needed help with reading and self-esteem.
In time, both Hollar and Schmidt transitioned to the community-based program with their Littles. The two matches have been meeting regularly ever since, and Hollar even attended Chris’ high school graduation in 2022.
Meanwhile, Schmidt is helping Little Sister Jenna prepare for college, with dreams to someday star on Broadway, leaving her self-esteem issues in the dust.
As per the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission, Hollar and Schmidt have worked hard to defend and ignite their Littles’ potential by helping them keep their grades up and look into job opportunities that fit their interests, the release states.
“I’m very grateful for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program,” said the mother of Little Brother Chris. “It’s a life-saving program. It helps the boys and it helps the single parents, too. As time goes by, it trickles down to help the whole community. I will be forever grateful for Big Brothers Big Sisters being in my life.”
As the next step of the Big of the Year process, Hollar and Schmidt will be nominated for National Big of the Year. In the past 12 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana has won three National Big of the Year awards, and in 2021, its Big Sister of the Year and Big Brother of the Year both hailed from Kosciusko County, with honors going to Big Couple Terry and Sherry Milton as well as Big Sister Wanda Tiltges.
Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. For 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that the ability to succeed and thrive in life is inherent in all children. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. To learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate or volunteer at www.BBBSNEI.org.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092