Big Brothers Big Sisters builds up community

On one of the final summer mornings before school started, Aniela, 10, of Cedar Rapids, was using a giant pair of scissors to help cut the ribbon to this year’s corn maze at Bloomsbury Farm near Atkins.

But it’s not just any garden-variety corn maze. This year’s 10-acre design pays tribute to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & East Central Iowa. And Aniela’s Big Sister just happens to be Samantha Petersen, 31, who works on the family’s agritourism complex, where the corn maze is a major draw this time of year.

Petersen was sharing scissors duty the morning of Aug. 17, during a gathering with a few other adults and kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as representatives from the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.

Aniela, who has been paired with Petersen for a little more than a year, thinks the mentoring program is “very cool.” She has especially enjoyed going swimming with Petersen and to the Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Cedar Rapids. Her older sister also is paired with a Big Sister, and was on hand for the ribbon cutting.

The farm will host several specials for the group, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters’ annual party in September; a movie night in October; and free admission for Littles with a paying Big during the farm’s various festivals.

“Nothing brings our family more joy than sharing this beautiful place with the community,” Petersen said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “and part of that is choosing a nonprofit or organization that we can support in our corn maze — to help an organization --- and make it bigger than just us.

“This year we’re very proud to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It’s a very important mentorship program in our community. … This cause is very special to my heart, because I happen to be a Big. …

“I can say from my personal experience that it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. To have a positive impact on a child’s life has been very special for me, and building a relationship with Aniela — and I think she can say the same.”

Besides being an entertainment attraction, the maze is designed to help build awareness and encourage others to look into the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, Petersen said.

“There’s so many kids waiting to be matched right now in the Cedar Rapids area,” she added.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is open to children ages 6 to 18, and nearly 500 Eastern Iowa children were involved this past year. Another 131 more youths are on the waiting list, most of whom are boys. According to the 2020 annual report, 74 percent of the Littles come from single-family households; 84 percent receive free and reduced-price school lunches; and 53 percent are children of color.

“Our goal is that we want people to reach their full potential and to be able to be successful members of society,” said Catherine VanDraska, program development director for the local program. “Big Brothers Big Sisters was initially established to try to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system. That was the initial premise. We wanted to make sure to provide them a supportive mentor, to be able to promote them and support them in success.”

Adults ages 19 and older who go through the multilevel screening process have several ways to be involved with the program. They can choose to be a community-based mentor, meeting one-on-one with a match child, ages 6 to 14, for four hours each month for at least a year.

Another option is to be a Lunch Buddy, a school-based mentor who meets twice a month, typically over the Big’s lunch hour, for at least a year. They can eat lunch with their Little, hang out for recess, or help with reading or math.

“A lot of businesses are really flexible with that,” said VanDraska, 26, of Ely. “It's a good break for your day, to be able to go to your Little’s school and spend time with them.”

The Couple Match pairs two adults — significant others or siblings — with a Little, and Family Matches involve bringing a Little along on family outings, like picnics and ballgames.

“From the Bigs’ standpoint, you have the opportunity to be someone that's trusted and learned from, and you get the opportunity to empower a youth within your community,” said VanDraska, who is going through the process to become a Big Sister. “You make lifelong memories and just fun memories with your Little.

“And then on the Littles’ side, they get someone to spend time with outside of their family. They get to see new experiences through (their Big) and just have a friend to talk to. A lot of times our Littles come from single-parent households and both families are busy and they have a lot going on. So this just gives that kiddo a time to get out of the house and do fun things,” she added.

Since time spent is more important than money spent, Bigs are encouraged to find low-cost things to do, or take advantage of event discounts offered through the local Big Brothers Big Sisters office.

“The biggest things that we focus on in our program, is we want to help our youth demonstrate educational success, reduce risky behavior and improve social and emotional competencies. And we do that just by creating that supportive mentorship,” VanDraska said.

Adults accepted as mentors receive support, as well. The vetting process looks at an applicant’s history; asks and answers questions; spends time getting to know that person and what he or she hopes to get out of the experience; and discusses setting appropriate boundaries. Then Bigs and Littles are matched according to interests and other criteria, and staff members do monthly or quarterly phone calls to see how the match is going.

“We do everything we can to make sure that you and your Little come to the table with similar interests and potentially similar backgrounds,” VanDraska said, noting that longtime pairings can lead to lifelong friendships.

“If you've been a Big for a while,” she said, “the ties don't just end with the graduation ceremony.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com