Most students aren’t fortunate enough to have siblings living in Peoria, but for those involved with Heart of Illinois’s Big Brother Big Sister program, a younger sibling is just a few blocks away.
According to the organization’s recruitment specialist for the Bradley Program, Hannah Daly, approximately 70 students at Bradley participate in Lunch Buddies, a program for college students to eat lunch paired with their “little sibling” once a week at a local elementary school.
The Lunch Buddies program is separate from the community-based program. Students attend the 30-minute lunch period and 15-minute recess with their little sibling, but do not spend time together outside the school setting.
“All you’re doing is spending time with them and over time, they’ll pick up on your good habits and your good values,” Sydney Daniels, director of development for Big Brother Big Sister, said. “They’ll start to change into the kind of child you want to see them become, and what we really preach a lot is that every single child we serve has so much potential already … We’re just helping them reach their highest potential possible.”
Sophomore history major Luc Johnson has been a part of Lunch Buddies since his freshman year after Daly spoke at his fraternity meeting.
Johnson said his little brother is “full of energy,” and most lunchtime-hangouts have consisted of playing games like Connect Four.
“It was a really good opportunity for me to become active in the area and I know a lot of kids in the area have unfortunate situations,” Johnson said. “I feel like any way I can make a positive impact, I want to.”
According to Daly, this year’s student enrollment in the Lunch Buddies Program is higher than usual, the organization recruits throughout the school year, and constantly has little siblings waiting to be matched.
“We would love if [college kids] got involved all four years,” Daly said. “We do have a lot of freshmen who get involved. We would love for them to stay matched as long as they can.”
The Lunch Buddies program is aimed towards long-term volunteers, requiring at least a full-year commitment
“Often it takes our kids a long time to warm up to their big brother or sister,” Daniels said. “We really preach consistency… If you’re not there consistently, you probably won’t have a super satisfying match because it takes effort to build that foundation.”
For students who live in the area, the community-based program is also heavily in need of volunteers. According to Daniels, over 100 kids in the area are waiting to be matched with big brothers and sisters.
For more information about getting involved in the Lunch Buddies or community-based program, contact Hannah Daly at h.daly@hoibbbs.org or reach her at 309-637-1771.
