Volunteer Discussion Board's a Hit!

The BBBS Volunteer Discussion Board (VDB) went live on November 18, and the response has been tremendous! In a little more than 24 hours, the VDB had 64 members and 23 postings in three forums. The VDB is similar to an online bulletin board where Bigs can exchange ideas, questions, suggestions, success stories, and other general thoughts and concerns of BBBS volunteers. All of the postings so far have been great, such as...

• The Big Brother who suggested karate to the Big Sister who is having trouble with her Little Brother getting into fights.
  
• The Big Sister who talked about her success of making sushi with her Little Sister. She said she had read about the idea of trying new cultures on the BBBS E-News!

All active Bigs are invited to register and go online to the private bulletin board, exclusively for BBBS volunteers. Ticket donations also will be posted on the Volunteer Discussion Board, so Bigs will need to join the VDB in order to take advantage of available tickets and passes. We will phase out the practice of sending regular "BBBS Updates" via e-mail to all Bigs.

So, sign up for the Volunteer Discussion Board today. Read what's happening. Share your ideas, thoughts and opinions. And be a part of the "BIG" network of BBBS volunteers!

Ethnic Artz Supports BBBS

For the second consecutive year, Ethnic Artz will sponsor special shopping days in December when a percentage of the purchases will benefit three charitable organizations, including BBBS. On Thursday, December 4, a percentage of all purchases at Ethnic Artz will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh. The store is open from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but a special reception with light refreshments will be offered for shoppers on December 4 from 7:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. Purchases the whole day will qualify for those who cannot attend the reception.

Ethnic Artz is located at 1102 East Carson Street in the Historic South Side. Look for the big green sign on the 1100 block of East Carson Street. Free parking is available at the Iron & Glass Bank next door. Call 412-481-5579 for directions.

Ethnic Artz is truly one of Pittsburgh's most unique gift shops. Specializing in eclectic home décor from around the world, you're sure to find something for everyone on your holiday shopping list, especially those who are difficult to buy for. In addition to home décor items, Ethnic Artz also carries a large selection of fashion accessories and jewelry. For a preview, visit www.ethnicartzinc.com.

If you're unable to visit Ethnic Artz on Thursday, you're also invited to shop on December 10 to benefit the Midwife Center for Birth and Woman's Heath or December 16 to benefit the Pittsburgh Aids Task Force.

Big For A Day Event Held With Kappas

Members of the Kappa Alpha Psi chapter at the University of Pittsburgh partnered with BBBS for a Big For A Day event in October. Fourteen Kappas were paired one-to-one with boys from the BBBS waiting list for an afternoon of games and fun on the Pitt campus in Oakland. It was a Saturday filled with board games, chess competitions, and tag football on the lawn of the William Pitt Union. The group of Big For A Day matches also found time for one-to-one conversation over a slice of pizza and drinks. One of the event's highlights was the now infamous "mystery brown bag game" that involved creating a "masterpiece" from scraps and other odd objects that were given to the matches by Cheryl Jones, BBBS special services coordinator. All of the matches showed their creative sides when they transformed the random objects into basketball hoops, parachutes, pyramids and caves, just to name a few. It's truly a testament of the group's willingness and ability to "make magic happen" and the realization that it's the little things that make a big difference. Special thanks are extended to all the members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity for helping to make this Big For A Day event a huge success.

Successful Habit #4: Think WIN-WIN

It may not be exactly what Stephen Covey had in mind, but it's one of our habits of highly successful BBBS programs. This year's WIN-WIN Sweepstakes kicks off with the best line-up of prizes yet. It's called the "WIN-WIN Sweepstakes" because 26 prizes will be given away, including the Grand Prize Winner's choice of a 2004 Volvo XC90 or $50,000 in cold, hard cash! It's also a winner for BBBS because all of the net proceeds will go directly to support our important one-to-one mentoring programs. Entering is easy. Just call 1-877-YES-BIGS today. Tickets are $100 each or three for $275.

Check out these other exciting details.

Fabulous Prizes! The Grand Prize Winner will chose between a fully loaded 2004 Volvo XC90 or $50,000 in cash. It's a tough choice, but one entrant will have to make it. And before you pick the $50,000 cash option, take another look at the new SUV from Volvo. This is a top-of-the-line vehicle that comes with every option imaginable, plus a few add-ons to bring the retail price to $50,000 total. To take a closer look at the XC90, visit www.bobbyrahal.com/.

But that's not all! We're giving away more cash. The 2nd Prize Winner will receive $2,500. 3rd place takes home $1,000, and 4th and 5th prizes are $500 each. And the 6th through 25th prizes will be $250 each. All of these winners will be drawn on Sunday, February 22, 2004 at the PATA Pittsburgh Auto Show. You do not need to be present to win.

But that's still not all! There also will be a $5,000 Early Bird Drawing on Wednesday, December 31, 2003. Everyone who enters by 12:00 noon on December 31 will be entered into the $5,000 bonus drawing.

Incredible Odds! A maximum of 2,500 raffle tickets will be sold. That means that the overall odds of winning a prize are about 96 to 1. And if the raffle doesn't sell out, the odds will be even better. Try getting those odds in the lottery!

Important Cause! This is a great way to benefit the region's leading one-to-one mentoring program for at-risk kids. Since 1965, more than 10,000 youth throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania have benefited by having a Big Brother or Big Sister. But the demand for the BBBS program continues to grow. Right now there are more than 500 area children on the agency's waiting list for mentors. Your support of BBBS through the WIN-WIN Sweepstakes will go directly to support the hundreds of existing mentoring relationships in our program and help to reach out to the children on our waiting list who desperately need the support, guidance and friendship of a caring adult mentor.

Enter the WIN-WIN Sweepstakes today. Call 1-877-YES-BIGS.

REMEMBER: WIN-WIN raffle tickets make great holiday gifts for those people on your gift list who already have everything. Don't delay! Enter by December 31 to be eligible for the $5,000 Early Bird Drawing

• Hooray for the math whiz! LB DeAndre (BB James Hall) completed 100 multiplication facts in record time, only two minutes and 30 seconds with 100% accuracy. Ten-year-old DeAndre even beat out 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the math challenge.
• LB Shane (BB David Boodman) made the honor roll during the first grading period of the school year.
• Congratulations to BB Nello Contich (LB Robert) who recently welcomed his fourth grandchild into the world. Nello now has two grandsons, two granddaughters and one Little Brother.
• We also extend house-warming congratulations to BB Brian Russell (LB John) who recently purchased a new home in the South Hills.
• Special appreciation goes out to BS Athena Sister who recruited 11 school-based Bigs from Carlow College.
• Congratulations to LB England (BS Stacie Amorose) for being a member of the 2nd place team in the 2003 Boys and Girls Club Flag Football Championship.

Many Bigs and Littles enjoy ice-skating together, even if neither of them are good skaters. Our region has a number of excellent facilities for ice-skating, and many ice rinks offer skate rentals. But be sure to call ahead to check for pricing, hours of operation, and directions.

• Airport Ice Arena, 412-264-2222
• Blade Runners Ice Complex, 724-772-0022
• Golden Mile Ice Center, 724-327-7465
• Ice Connection, 724-898-2440
• Island Sports Center, 412-262-3335
• Mt. Lebanon Ice Rink, 412-561-4363
• North Park, 724-935-1280
• Schenley Park, 412-422-6523
• South Park, 412-833-1499
• The Rink at PPG Place, 412-394-3641

For more information about tickets and the match activities listed here, please contact Cheryl Jones at cjones@bbbspgh.org or call 412-363-6100, ext. 226.

	Encouraging Your Little To Read Never before have children spent so much time immersed in so many kinds of electronic media. And no one knows definitively what the exposure is doing to them. That's the conclusion of a new national study quantifying the pervasiveness of television, computers, screen games, music, DVDs and videos in the homes of children ages six months through six years. Some of the report's most startling findings focus on children ages three and under. Almost a third of them have television sets in their bedrooms, and 40% live in homes where the TV is always on in the background. More than half of young children are able to change channels with the remote control, and 30% load videos or DVDs by themselves.
The survey also found that children ages six months to six years spent about two hours a day watching TV, playing video games or on a computer. That was three times as long as they spent reading or being read to, and nearly the same amount of time they spent playing outdoors. You can access the full report on the Internet at www.kff.org. The good news is that adults have tremendous influence in helping children to read well and, perhaps more importantly, learn to enjoy reading. And as a Big Brother or Big Sister, there are many creative ways to encourage your Little to read more. The following ideas, adapted from an article by Robert E. Morgan entitled "Creative Ways To Encourage Students To Read," can be used by Bigs to help their Littles to become better readers: Research on reading generally agrees that the most critical aspect of reading is how a child feels about reading. Positive reinforcement helps. Your Little needs to know that you care about reading. Research also agrees that, in most cases, forcing a child to read will not yield positive results. Most children should not be required to read each day, especially if it's forced reading for pleasure. When you're with your Little, establish special reading times when the two of you read together. Even if your Little is reluctant, he/she knows that the time is reserved for reading. Let your Little read light material or look through picture books, if nothing else. Subscriptions to an age-appropriate magazine make good birthday and holiday gifts. There's a certain amount of excitement in "ownership," and for many Littles it's very exciting to receive mail. If your Little is willing, don't be afraid to read aloud. Reading to children is one of the best ways to encourage interest in reading. If you're Little is too old to be read to, just read articles aloud from the newspaper or a magazine. Schedule regular match outings to the library. Introduce your Little to the librarian. Librarians are anxious to help children look for interesting reading material. Help your Little pick out a book. Tell your Little how difficult books are and let your Little decide if he/she wants to read them. If your Little starts a book and doesn't want to finish it, that's okay. Hasn't that happened to you? Don't forget browsing on the Internet. You might find that your Little will read pages on the Web. Help him/her find pages with content that fits his/her own personal interests. What are your Little's hobbies or interests? Help your Little seek reading material about his/her interests. Praise your Little for his/her reading. For example, give praise when a long or difficult book has been completed. Attend used book sales at libraries and other places where good books can be found inexpensively. Discuss with your Little any book he/she is reading for a class at school. Read the book yourself so you can discuss it with your Little later. When you and your Little are working on something together, have him/her read the directions, recipe, instructions, etc. For more ideas, go online and search on "encourage reading."