Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia announces 2016 Big of the Year
May 20, 2016
COLUMBIA, SC – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia is proud to announce Julia Evans as Big of the Year 2016 for the state of South Carolina. Julia will be honored at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia’s annual Start Something Breakfast held at the Palmetto Club this fall.
The Big of the Year award is one of the premier recognition programs by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Each year, the national headquarters ultimately selects one Big Brother and one Big Sister of the Year. The process starts with Big Brothers and Big Sisters being nominated at the local level. The State Chair representatives then select state winners. After the state winners are selected, they proceed to the national competition. Ultimately, one Big Brother and one Big Sister will receive the top honor.
Julia and her Little Sister, Breyonne, have been matched for over 6 years and she is an excellent example of the impact of a mentor in the life of a child. The criteria for being selected as Big of the Year includes being matched for a minimum of two years and having demonstrated a significant impact for the Little academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally as a result of the match. All Bigs recognized for this honor have also shown excellence as an advocate for the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission.
Julia and Breyonne’ have been matched since January 2010. In addition to being a Big, Julia works full-time, is a mother and an avid Gamecocks fan. Between managing her own schedule and family time, Julia has dedicated several hours a month over the last six years to spending time with Breyonne’. Almost 11-year-old Breyonne’ and Julia love reading together, going skating, visiting the zoo and just encouraging each other. Breyonne’ said, “Spending time with Julia is lots of fun because she takes me to different places and she makes sure I’m having fun. We recently went to the Lady Gamecock basketball game and it was awesome. We were both yelling and cheering during the game. Julia includes me in many of her family events like her son’s high school graduation and her daughter’s college graduation and birthday celebrations.”
Breyonne’ was inspired by Big Sister Julia to want to help other children. This year, Breyonne’ started the “Breyonne’s Act of Kindness Foundation”, a non-profit organization that provides free school uniforms to financially challenged children in South Carolina and Georgia. In 2015, Breyonne’ was recognized by U.S. Senator Tim Scott for advocating for a school crossing guard at the school she attends as a 5th grader. When asked how Bre’s Big Sister Julia felt after learning of this huge recognition, Bre said, “Ms. Julia thought it was so awesome. She said she is so proud of me. I love her and I know she loves and supports me.”
During match support with Bre’s mom, mom says how Breyonne’ talks about her Big all the time to her friends and extended family, always in the highest regard. Julia’s commitment to Breyonne’ can be seen in many ways, “The consistency of Julia’s relationship with Breyonne’ helped her become more acclimated to her surroundings, therefore making the transition a lot easier when we relocated from Atlanta, Georgia several years ago. Julia has gone beyond the call of duty to help my daughter Breyonne’ with self-esteem issues, school assignments and tutoring. She has introduced Breyonne’ to cultural events like ballet. For an eight-year- old child to show such a commitment and high regard to a specific individual speaks very highly as to how Julia has affected her life.”
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia is a proud affiliate member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network.
Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children (“Littles”) with screened volunteer mentors (“Bigs”) and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring relationships. The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations; greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors. For more information, please visit www.bbbsgc.org.
