Grant Helps Sioux County Agency Fill Dreams:

"I said we have to make this happen," Colling explained of the local Big Brothers Big sisters of Sioux County branch. "I know I would have loved to of been a big sister when I was in high school, and I didn't have that opportunity, because it didn't exist."

Now this Sioux County native is the President and CEO of the non-profit organization designed to empower children and bring a smile to the faces of mentors in Hawarden, Alton, Granville, Hospers, Sioux Center and Orange City.

"I took over the agency in '05, and I thought I want to give back to my community, my home community," Colling explained. "So, that's why I wanted this in Sioux County."

A New Agency
Colling's dream became a reality when the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sioux County branch opened its doors in Orange City in August of 2006. The program is located in the old hospital building in Orange City.

"I'm from Granville, so I understand it. There are kids that are dealing with issues right there in Sioux County. Low self-confidence is huge. If you don't have that, it's hard to get where you need to be," Colling explained.

"We did receive funding a couple of years ago from the Hawarden Community Foundation, so that is really what helped us get established there," the Granville native explained.

And just a few days ago, the Sioux County facility received more great news.

"We did just receive a grant from the Iowa Department of Public Health to do mentoring services in Sioux County. It's all for Sioux County," Colling explained of the three year grant that went into effect on July 1.

"That (grant) will help them match more children with a screened and trained adult role model."

Hawarden Children are Waiting
Now, the local agency is looking for a few more mentors.

"We have kids waiting in Hawarden right now, on a waiting list, for mentors. We have twelve kids waiting there and two current matches," Colling said.

Colling hopes the local community will step up to help these children. After all, mentoring doesn't cost a cent, but is full of rewards.

"We want you just to invite this little into your lifestyle. Don't come up with new activities for them to do. If you're going to run errands, and go to the grocery store, take them along. Teach them how to do the cart the right way or how to follow the list. There's so many teachable moments," Colling explained of the program.

Becoming a Mentor
If you're 16 or older, you can be a mentor to a child. You don't need any special skills, just the ability to spend at least two afternoons a month with a child that could use a role model in their life.

"We help you out with activity suggestions. You really get all the resources that you need. There are quarterly events where all the big and littles get together to do fun things," Colling explained.

At the quarterly events you may even run into a few participants in the "Big for a Day" program which allows potential "bigs" the chance to explore the world of mentoring.

"Maybe you want to experience what it's like to be a mentor but you don't want to make that commitment. You would come and be matched with a 'little' for the day, or those two hours, and you can see what it's like," Colling mentioned.

"As the relationship progresses the big, 9 times out of 10 say, I feel like I'm getting more out of this than I'm giving," Colling explained of the program.

Colling even admits, the time she spends with her little sister allows her to let go of the craziness of daily life, and give back to the community.

"I'm in my third match with my little sister. And, it just lets me just let go. I'm a mom and I have two kids and everything. There's just something different about when I'm with this little girl. I love it," Colling explained of her current little sister.

And when she hears stories of other big's experiences, she knows how important the program truly is for both the bigs and the littles.

"A big sister called me and she said she was driving with her little the other day. They were looking at Christmas lights. This was in the winter. And she just got the giggles, uncontrollably" Colling reminisced. "She said, "Well, what's so funny?" And the little said, "This is the best day of my life." And she said "Well, why, what happened?" She goes "No, this! Driving around looking at Christmas lights and you took me through the Dairy Queen, and we're eating an ice cream, and there's snow on the ground. This is the best day of my life.''"

Potential mentors can take the first step by calling the local agency in Orange City or visiting the website on the internet at www.bigbrothersbigsisters.com, and clicking on the Sioux County link.

Potential mentors will meet with BBBS in person for an interview, submit three references, have a home visit and a background check. The process takes about one month to match a big and a little.

"The big thing is, you don't have to change your life to change theirs. People think, oh, it's just not a good time to mentor right now. Well, when is going to be a good time? It's a good time for him, for the little," Colling explained.

Bigs and littles even set their own schedules so both lifestyles are accommodated. Unlike many volunteer activities, scheduling doesn't need to be pre-approved by BBBS.

Great For Every Child
"We make the argument that every child could benefit from a mentor," Colling explained of the program that matches mentors to children in Kindergarten to Eighth grade. Once matched, the mentoring an continue as long as both parties wish.

Parents may enroll their child in the program at no cost. There are also no financial or citizenship guidelines for a child to participate in the program.

"It's a researched based program. There are 21 areas that we evaluate the little on. It's everything from academic performance and self esteem, relationship with peers, able to avoid delinquency, those things," Colling explained.

She feels the program is an excellent way to keep B and C students on the straight and narrow. This group often gets overlooked because they aren't praised for their A work, nor reprimanded for low grades.

"The Big meets the little for the first time in the littles home with a staff person from BBBS, so the little is comfortable. The goals have been identified by the parent, the school and the child to start. At 6 months and a year we do evaluations. It's definitely outcome driven," Colling explained of the largest and biggest mentoring organization in the nation.

There are currently over 50 matches in Sioux County, and only two from Hawarden. Colling would like to see the 12 children from Hawarden on the waiting list be matched as soon as possible, so they can benefit from a mentor.

"It's the mentors in the community making it happen. All you're going to find in our office is desks," Colling noted. "Without people in the community, we're nothing."

Would you like to know more about becoming a mentor or enrolling your child in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sioux County?

Plan to attend The Christian Motorcycle Association motorcycle show and benefit on August 21 in Orange City from 6-8pm.

BBBS will be onsite with information on how to become a mentor and how to sign up your child for the mentoring program. There is no cost to the mentor or the child to participate in BBBS.

Ready to get started today? Call the Sioux County chapter at 712-707-9808 and change a young person's life today!

***This article was originally published in the Hawarden Independant / Ireton Examiner Newspaper by Segdwick Publishing on July 10, 2008. ***