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Icy
Fun!
 Even
though the Winter Olympics are not scheduled until 2006, there may be some
BBBS Littles who will be ready for the challenge! On a recent Saturday
afternoon, eight matches were treated to a skating clinic conducted by the
Carnegie Mellon Figure Skating Club at the
Robert
Morris
University
Island
Sports
Center. This rare treat provided our matches with great
individualized advice and
coaching, and gave the skaters from CMU a chance to give back to the community
as well.
The CMU Figure Skating Club was started two years ago by a group of talented
skaters as a way of gathering students who enjoy skating. Not only do they
practice together, but they teach other college students and local children how to skate. Several of the members have skated on a competitive
level and offer their experience and advice to those who are just starting or
want to advance their current skating skills.
The main goal of the day was to provide an opportunity for the Littles to have
fun and try something new. Thanks
to the Tickets for Kids Foundation, BBBS was able to obtain admission and
skate rental passes at the RMU
Island
Sports
Center, which was a helpful bonus for the Bigs!
While the Littles were involved in the lessons, many of the Bigs were
able to meet, mingle and get to know one another. We received a lot of
positive feedback from this unique experience with the only recommendation
being to increase the number of matches attending so that more Littles could
skate together!
We extend a heartfelt thank you to the CMU Figure Skating Club for taking time
off from their studies to share their time and talents with our Littles! We
have extended an open invitation for them to join us at our Holiday Party in
December at the Schenley Park Ice Rink…to lend a hand to those who could use
a tip or two on how to stay upright on the ice!
Matches
Have Major (League) Good Time
Earlier this summe r we shared with you the experience of one lucky match who
was able to participate in Major League umpire Marvin Hudson’s Tickets
for Two Program. Marvin
enjoyed his time with Pittsburgh BBBS so much, he invited
three other matches to
participate in his Big League Umpire Experience (BLUE) on Saturday, August 27,
when he was in town to work the Pirates vs. Reds game. The day
itself was cold, damp and rainy, but that did not deter the selected matches
from participating in an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Marvin Hudson has
taken the mission of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program to heart and has
created a unique experience for Bigs and Littles to learn what it takes to be
an umpire. They also get an up-close and personal look at the
behind-the-scenes action at the ballpark. Marvin believes that giving matches
the opportunity to experience new
things together serves to build a bond between them and give them something to
talk about for years to come!
BB Mike Sable & LB Will, BS Phyllis Barber & LS Katie and BB Steve
Seiple & LB Caleb were the lucky matches who spent time in the umpire’s
quarters learning the tasks that
an umpire handles before, during and after each game. They learned how the
umpires explain the ground rules to the managers, prepare the baseballs for
the game by rubbing them with special Delaware
Mud, and how to call players on strikes and safe. They even tried on the
equipment and fielded balls!
Marvin shared stories, answered questions and invited Pittsburgh Pirate
shortstop Jack Wilson to stop by and chat with the matches as well. Jack
autographed baseballs and took photos with everyone. The afternoon wrapped up
with Marvin giving each match tickets to watch the game. While the Pirates
couldn’t pull off the win, the matches left PNC Park
happy that they had experienced a rare opportunity. We thank Marvin Hudson for
giving his time and Samuel Dearth who helped facilitate this amazing
opportunity. Each match hopes that others
will get the chance to participate in BLUE next baseball
season!
You can see more pictures here.
So What's
New?
Development continues on
a new and vastly improved BBBS website, and we anticipate it to become the
ultimate tool for connecting Bigs to Bigs. However, just because we haven’t
turned that corner yet doesn’t mean you can’t share your match experiences
with other volunteers. If you have any interesting stories about you and your
Little, a great picture of the two of you, or even advice on being a Big, send
it to us. If it passes our rigorous test, we’ll post it in new monthly
section of the eNEWS. Consider it your chance to be famous. Send your stuff to
Cheryl Jones at cjones@bbbspgh.org
 Need
Something Fun To Do?
There are a lot of things you can do
with your Little that don't require a dime-just the outdoors and trees. Here
are a few that fit the bill:
-
Rake up a perfectly good pile of
leaves, and then jump in it!
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Have a contest to see who can find
the most different colored leaves.
-
Tie some leaves together to make a
"Nature Necklace."
-
Grab some leaves, iron them, and
paste them to construction paper to make a beautiful art piece.
-
Find the leaf that most closely
matches the shape of your hand.
-
Hunt for the tree with the most
amount of leaves remaining on its branches, and the least amount of leaves
remaining.
Big/Little Fall Fest a Haunting Hit!
The cool temperatures and sporadic bouts of rain did not dampen the spirits of the
137 attendees of the first-ever evening fall party held on Friday,
October 28th at Camp
Guyasuta! Being held at night was not the only
“first” involved with this match event. Another memorable part was the
Scarecrow Building Contest. Fourteen Bigs and Littles planned, organized and
assembled a wild array of scarecrows that were placed on display around the
pumpkin patch. Using old clothes, a variety of props and (most importantly)
lots of imaginative ideas, everyone hammered, stapled, and tied their
creations into shape.
Two able-bodied University
of Pittsburgh
volunteers assisted the matches with the mechanics of assembling and
erecting their scarecrows. They were joined by several other Pitt volunteers
who served as judges for the contest. The judges were truly hard-pressed to
pick winners, as they thought all the scarecrows were deserving of accolades!
After much discussion, the following scarecrows were highlighted as winners
and received prizes that were generously donated by Southside
Works Cinema, AMF
Mount
Lebanon
Lanes,
The Kid Company, Laser Storm, and the
Pittsburgh
Zoo
& Aquarium
Most
Creative: BB Chris Lisowski & LB
Erik for their Michael Jackson scarecrow.
Most Realistic: BS Sandra Eritano & LB
Michael for Lil’ Bro, the young rapper.
Most Traditional: BB Mike Harms & LB
Anthony for their plaid shirted, pumpkin–headed scarecrow.
Most Humorous: BS Stacie Amorose & LB England with much help and assistance from BB
Steve Veverka & LB Corey for their bathing beauty creation.
Most Frightening: BS Jamie Englert & LS Cache for the simple, but really scary, headless
lady in black
Honorable Mention: BS Rae Reynolds & LS Raven, BS Rafelin O’Dell & LS Jordan, BS
Lisa Primerano & LS Danielle, BS Rebecca Hartgen & LS Brooke, BS
Suzanne Hribik & LS Ashley, BS Jennifer Biesecker & LS Sierra, BS Amy
Keller & LBs Edward & Emmanuel, and BS Linda Fliessner & LBs
Davon, Devon & Damon.
Littles wandered through a festive
pumpkin patch created from pumpkins
generously donated by Whole Foods,
where they selected the perfect pumpkin to bring inside and carve into a scary
creation. Everyone was allowed to take home their carved pumpkins to use for
decoration in their homes. Bigs and Littles played festive games of GHOST Bingo and Fall
Find-A-Word, and created some fall and Halloween crafts. There was a
campfire that kept away the chill in the air and aided in the creation of some
delicious s’mores!
Matches competed against each other in a rousing relay race that included
eating donuts dangling from a string, moving pumpkin seeds from one place to
another using only a straw,
and popping balloons by sitting on them! While the “winners” received
candy bars…all spectators could be considered winners as watching these
contests was hilarious viewing! Following the relay, those interested in a
spooky night hike gathered by the fire. Because of so much interest, our
guide, Tony, had to call for back-up and broke the large group into three. As
they wielded their way through the darkened trails with flashlights in hand,
there were rumored sightings of “wolves,” “mountain lions” and
the occasional creepy creature, but everyone made it back safely!
The evening’s festivities ended with the awarding of the scarecrow contest
prizes as well as the Guess the Candies
in the Candy Jar contest which was won by BB Mark Maiola (who came the
closest to guessing the correct number of candies). We hope Mark shared some
of the 2,461 pieces that were in that jar! Five lucky winners also received
sets of tickets to see the University
of
Pittsburgh’s football game against Connecticut.
The site of Bigs and Littles carrying goody bags, jack-o-lanterns and the
occasional scarecrow off to their cars gave the impression that those in
attendance had a spirited good time! Check out pictures in the Photo Gallery.
Special thanks go out to the
following for their generous donations that helped make the BBBS Big/Little
Fall Fest a success:
- Walmart
Target
- WholeFoods
- Supercuts
- FunFest Entertainment Center
- Laser Storm
- AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes
- The Kid Company
- Southside Works Cinema
- The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium
Click to see New
Matches and Match Anniversaries for
September/October!
 See photos from some of
our most recent match activities including the Blue-for-Kids Program, and the Big/Little Fall Festival.
Click here>>
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October, 2005