Community Highlight: Big Brothers Big Sisters

Podcast Transcription 

Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU, where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cybersecurity and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.

Maddy: Hi everyone. Thank you for joining me on this episode of PFCU's Money Talk podcast. As always, I'm your host Maddy. And today with me, I have a very special guest joining me virtually, Megyn Forest and she is the executive director and CEO of Big Brothers, Big Sisters the Michigan Capital Region. So, thank you so much for joining me today, Megyn.

Megyn: Yeah, thank you for having me.

Maddy: Of course. And I know I feel like winter has hit us hard the last couple of weeks so, I'm glad we could make this happen virtually, stay off the roads as much as we can.

Megyn: Absolutely.

Maddy: So, if you just could give some background on yourself, maybe your role at Big Brothers Big Sisters, that would be great.

Megyn: Yeah, I certainly can. So, I have a long history with Big Brothers Big Sisters previously, before I even started this role in leadership here in Lansing. So, many, many moons ago before husband, before kids, I was a mentor in the program and it's an experience that I think about often. And so, when I started this role in May of 2021, it was just, it was a calling for me. I've always worked in non-profit. I've always had a passion for volunteering and to be able to give back and lead such an amazing organization to do that for an amazing community. It's just such a calling for me. So, becoming from a mentor, becoming leadership, leading my team to do great things as well, it's really come full circle and it's all for our kids and our community.

Maddy: Yeah, that's amazing. It is an amazing organization. Could you speak a little bit about what you all do? Maybe what your mission is?

Megyn: Yeah, so Big Brothers Big Sisters has a really special mission. I always start with we don't give kids anything they don't already have. You know, everyone is born with the inherent potential to succeed. And a lot of our youth just are facing some adversity or have some setbacks or some challenges or barriers to setting that foundation of success. And that's where we come in. Creating a mentorship sounds like a daunting thing to do, right? Being a mentor, what do I have to be a great mentor? And really a great mentor just shows up. And that's what we do. We enroll children age five, all the way up to 17, and we connect them with a friend, a mentor. Someone to show up, someone to be in their corner, someone to listen. Our enrollment process is pretty extensive because we want to make sure we make the best friendship for a long-term relationship and mentorship. So, we're asking questions about hobbies, interests, experiences, what you might like to do if you're big, what you want to get out of mentorship. And then we make sure that we match them based on best fit so they have a long-term relationship. And our longest, our average relationship, I want to say, is about four years, which is above the national average. So, the mentorships in our program certainly do last and make that meaningful impact.

Maddy: Yeah, you touched a little bit on what that relationship could look like. And you said just showing up because I, you know, a lot of those youth probably just don't have that constant in their life that they really crave. Could you speak a little bit more to what that relationship between a big and a little could look like, maybe what they do, what those littles really need from their bigs?

Megyn: Absolutely. And you know, littles in our program, not, not all of them are facing adversity, I should say. All of our youth, like I said, have the potential to succeed and each relationship, each mentorship looks different. We'll have youth who possibly have an incarcerated loved one and that mentor just shows up and listens. We may have youth who I can speak about one. We have a little guy who's got a bunch of sisters and a single parent household, mom is there, he just wants a guy to hang out with and I get that.

Maddy: Yeah.

Megyn: So, the need can look different for each match is what we call it, each big and a little. And what they do is based on interest. So, we might have matches that go out in the park and build rockets. We have a match that did that not too long ago. We have a match over the summer, they went paddle boarding for the first time, which was a lot of fun. We have an outpouring of support from the community who donate MSU tickets and Wharton Center tickets, Buffalo Wild Wing coupons to go out and grab some food. So, it's really all about what the match wants to do, what the big and little wants to do. And now we also have a program where the big only meets the little at school. So, in that site-based program, and that's how I started as a mentor long ago, is every Wednesday, I'll speak about my experience. Every Wednesday at lunch, I would go to the middle school and I would have lunch with my girl and we'd hang out. And then once the school year ended, we started meeting out in the community, going to get pizza or coffee or walking around the mall. So, it's really special that these relationships kind of ebb and flow as well. Maybe they start with just doing homework and they turn into going out in the community. It's just all about how that relationship is developing. And you know, that's where our program comes in. A lot of people don't know that we don't just put a child and an adult together and say, go have fun you know, go out in the community and have a great time. Each match in our program is professionally supported. They have a caseworker, if you will, a match support specialist where we're checking in monthly. We are asking them, you know, how the relationship is going and what can we do to help support? Do they need any community resources? So, we make sure that they have all the resources that they have to make sure that they're growing that match and developing a strong relationship.

Maddy: Yeah, I think that's great that you're not just thrown out there, not only as, if you volunteer as a big, having that support, you know, but also I would think you talked about the single mom with all of the daughters and one son, knowing that if you go through this program, there's going to be support from all sides, not just, yeah, here's this adult that's going to go spend time with your kid, but here's how we're going to support that relationship and make sure that it's, everyone's getting what they need from it.

Megyn: Right, and also making sure that it's safe. All of our mentors go through extensive background checks, reference checks. We make sure that our children in our program are first and foremost safe. And that's what our monthly check-ins also help us do, is to make sure that everyone is safe, everyone's getting what they need to grow a healthy relationship as well.

Maddy: That's awesome. You talked a little bit about community partners and offering, you know, donating tickets to different events and things like that. Could you speak to that a little bit more on how businesses and other organizations can partner with you guys?

Megyn: Yeah, that's a great question. So, we are always in need of mentors. That is usually what I start with, always. And this is nationwide. There's always twice as many little seeking mentors and mentors reaching out to programs and you know, the commitment is daunting. I get it. So, what I usually say when I'm talking with, you know, community partners is any opportunities to speak to employees to share the commitment. Being a big is 30 minutes a week, you know, stopping in to have lunch with your little every Wednesday or Thursday or whatever day works. As far as activities and supporting matches in that sense, any donation is great. We have been donated basketballs and we were able to get the best basketball to a little boy who has always wanted a basketball to Wharton center tickets to like I said coupons for meals. Our slogan nationally in 2024 is “it takes little to be big” which is so beautifully loaded. I love this one because it certainly does take little to be big, it's not just a coupon for some chicken wings. We get photos from that outing where that match hadn’t been able to meet in a while. And those coupons for chicken wings allowed them to reconnect over a meal and share experience and donations such as that make such an impact for our program. It doesn't have to be grandiose, you know, football tickets, just something simple to help our relationships grow. Truly takes little to be big.

Maddy: Yes, I love that. And I think that's great for people to hear that. It doesn't have to be, even just if you're volunteering as a big, it doesn't have to be, everyone's so busy. And I think that's great for people to hear that. It doesn't have to be, even just if you're volunteering as a big, it doesn't have to be, everyone's so busy, but just taking that 30 minutes, it means so much to that child. I think that's a great perspective to have. I love that.

Megyn: Yeah. You know, I was speaking at a meeting once upon a time and I had a woman stand up and she said, you know, I didn't have a really special experience when I was a big. I'm like, oh, tell me more. And she started talking and she said, you know, every week I'd show up, we chat, we wouldn't chat. Sometimes she'd sit there, didn't have much to say. And then I'd leave. And I always felt like, and this is coming from her, she said, I always felt like I didn't do enough. And this went on for about a year, then the match closed because the little moved and I'm getting choked up. And then later on, she reconnected with this little. And what was so special from this match is a little said, you always showed up. And that was really special. So here the big is thinking, I'm not doing enough. She's not talking enough. We're not doing anything special. And that was what was special. She always showed up and she was consistent. So, when people are contemplating, you know, do I have what it takes to be a big or a mentor? Absolutely, everyone does. We all have friends. We all show up for our friends, our loved ones. And that's truly what our agency does, is make those relationships and those connections. Just have someone in your corner. We all need that.

Maddy: Yeah. Now, if a, if a family is interested in having, we talked a lot about becoming a volunteer as a big, what about if a family has a child they would like to put into the program, what does that process kind of look like?

Megyn: Yeah, absolutely. So, a process we have been doing a lot of work to make sure it's as streamlined as possible and to make sure that no matter what any inquiry is talking to a real person, you're not just filling out an application and sending it along. We even hired an additional enrollment specialist. So, we have two ladies working in tandem to make sure that we are getting applications through quickly, efficiently, effectively. So, it starts with the application. Our application is online, there's a link and it is titled Enroll a Child. It's right there on the link, and that goes directly through our program. It goes to Alexis, and it goes to Dee. So, it's going to real people. These ladies are phenomenal. And it starts with just giving us some contact information. From there, we call and talk to the parent or the guardian. You know, tell us why you are enrolling your child, what you need, what do you want to get out of the program? And then we do an interest finder which just is jargon for what do you like to do? You know, if you love basketball and that is your number one goal in a mentorship is go play basketball, we're not gonna match you with a big who doesn't play basketball or doesn't like basketball. So, the interest-finder is really where that magic happens to find out who do you want to hang out with. And then what we do then is we look through our cleared bigs once they've already done their background checks and we know who they are and we've done their interviews to try and find that match. From there, once we believe that we found the best match between a little and a big, we have what's called a match meeting which I like to call the first date. It's that first meeting where the big and the little and the parent all meet in person. We talk about goals. We see if we jive. We're going to have a good time together. And then we move forward and that is an official matched big and a little.

Maddy: Awesome. It's a very, it feels, as you talk about it, very personal and it is personal, you know, you're matching your kid with someone. And, I just love that, that you, you're talking about real people and making sure that it's the perfect fit before even moving forward with, with the actual match.

Megyn: Yeah.

Maddy: That's great. Do you have any major needs right now? You know, if someone wanted to help even aside from just becoming a big, which I know was probably always a need, but is there anything you would like to speak to in regards to that?

Megyn: Yeah, you know, there's a lot of ways to be involved in our program. If you don't have the time to be a big right now, or if you don't have the means to financially support our agency, there's so many ways to be involved. And that's through donations, that's through being active on our social media, subscribing to our newsletter. There's many ways to be involved such as volunteering. We have a 5K in October that is growing wildly.

Maddy: Great.

Megyn: Our first year we had about 35 participants, last year we had 211. So, there's always room to volunteer. We do a picnic in the summer. New this year is we are opening up our picnic to not just include our matches and their families, but also every child on our wait list is invited to this picnic to join our mentorship community and to see what our program has to offer. So that's another great thing about our program is you don't just apply and then wait forever. Sometimes it does take time, I'll be honest. Sometimes it takes time to find that perfect match. But what's great about including our wait list littles in our program is that you apply to a program and you're a part of this community, which is great. So, to land that plane, to contribute to our program and help support our program, volunteering, donating, and just being along for the ride with our social medias, newsletters and sharing the word about our program.

Maddy: Yeah. Awesome. And what a simple thing to do to just follow on social media and share those things, if you have any sort of passion for that and what you guys do, which, how could you not, right? I mean, what a great organization that you guys are a part of. Could you share your any contact information, your website, if people want to get more information, your social media, all that good stuff.

Megyn: Absolutely. So, you can find us on social media, on Facebook, Twitter X, LinkedIn. We have a YouTube channel. Our website is www.bbbsmcr. It's long, it's an acronym for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Michigan Capital Region.org. So, you can find us through all of those channels. You can email me directly, Megyn.forest@bbbsmcr.org and I would be happy to connect you and talk with you. Something really great that we are doing this year. So, speaking of social media is, it is actually in May, our 70th anniversary here in the capital region. So, we are celebrating all year long. We are putting a lot of campaigns out there to celebrate our 70th. So, our agency has been through ups and downs and we are celebrating that.

Maddy: Great, people should join the celebration for sure.

Megyn: Absolutely, absolutely. It's another good birthday, right?

Maddy: Right. Is there anything else you would like to share while we're here, Megan? The floor is yours if there's anything that we didn't talk about.

Megyn: The floor is mine. No pressure. I want to thank everyone. I want to thank your listeners. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity for us to serve our community for 70 years. That is amazing. Each community is different and we serve five counties in the capital region and each county has different needs and it's really important for us to meet those needs. And meet our youth where they're at. And we take risks and we're confident and we are acting with integrity and compassion. And I want to thank your listeners in the community for letting us do this. 70 years is a long time and we'll be here for many more years. So, thank you for the opportunity.

Maddy: Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. We love to get the word out about these organizations in, you know, our communities. I think that's great. All right, Megyn, well, thank you so much for joining me.

Megyn: Thank you for having me.

Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU. PFCU offers many products and services to fit your needs from our various loan and account options to our team of financial coaches to help you reach your goals. Make sure to take advantage of the many conveniences PFCU offers, such as the mobile app, mobile wallets, bill pay, and more. Visit our website at pfcu4me.com to learn more. PFCU is an equal housing lender and is federally insured by the NCUA.