March 20, 2020

Dear Friends,

A lot has happened over the last few days — these are unprecedented times. From all of us at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint and Genesee County, we sincerely hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.

As a nonprofit, specifically a nonprofit whose core mission is to defend potential through one-to-one interactions, this crisis is pushing us to make difficult decisions.

But we are confident that we will get through this.

Our mission is more critical than ever, and we still need your support to continue offering our life-changing program to children and teens in our community. We will not lose sight of how programs like ours help combat mental health issues such as loneliness, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem.

We are checking in with our Bigs and Littles on a regular basis and are providing support and resources on how they can stay connected and continue to build a trusting friendship during this time. We are also rallying behind the parents in our program as they face their own challenges as a result of this crisis.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to try new ways of making connections. We are going to create new opportunities for learning and events. And when this is all over, with your help, we are going to bounce back and make our agency stronger than ever.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint and Genesee County has several events planned over the next 8 weeks. With new recommendations and restrictions from the Center for Disease Control, city, state, and federal government in mind, we want to share our updated plan for these events with you.

Bigs, Littles, and Staff

First and foremost, the safety of our Bigs, Littles, families, and staff is our #1 priority. All staff began working remotely this week, and they will continue to do so through at least April 3. We have cancelled all match-related and agency events including Match Intro Meetings, Home Visits, Kids’ Orientation, Match Activities, 100 Men 100 Boys, and School Based Mentoring until April 3 (at minimum) and will evaluate the plan daily to make the best decisions possible.

We also previously issued strong recommendations that Bigs and Littles not meet in person until at least April 3, and those recommendations remain in effect. We recommend Matches focus on building a friendship through virtual opportunities like FaceTime, phone calls, text, etc.

Gary Haggart Bowl for Kids’ Sake Pledge Deadline Extended

 The pledge deadline for our 41^st Annual Bowl for Kids Sake has been extended to April 6^th due to the change in our regular work routines. Please send donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint and Genesee County, 1176 Robert T. Longway, Flint 48503 or make online donations at bbbsflint.org/bowl. The drawing for highest pledge achiever and $175 pledgers will be scheduled after April 6^th. The Pistons prize packet tickets will be substituted with a comparable prize. Thank you to our presenting sponsor Arby’s, our corporate sponsors and the more 1400 individuals who bowled and collected pledges. We are grateful to be a part of a community of givers, defending the potential of youth everywhere, everyday.

Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting

We were looking forward to our Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at our new offices at the Metro Housing Complex, 1176 Robert T. Longway on April 28.  This event also falls within the 8-week social distancing period recommended by the Center of Disease Control (CDC), so we must unfortunately postpone this in-person event. We are grateful to our host, the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce for their counsel during this time of uncertainty. We will keep you informed as we receive more direction from the CDC.

Spring Flower Sale

You will be receiving an order form in the mail next week or can visit our website, https://www.bbbsflint.org/event/2020-annual-spring-flower-sale/to place your order. Flowers will be available for pick-up Thursday May 28^th & Friday May 29.  Delivery is scheduled for Wednesday May 27th. The Spring Flower Sale prepares us for our spring decorating and landscaping needs. It is also a great gift giving opportunity for birthdays and Mother’s Day. Your support of our Spring Flower Sale is another way we gain financial resources for our mentoring programs, Learning Day and Camp activities. We do not foresee any disruption of this annual event. We ask that you help us make this a great success by helping us identify new customers. Please send the link https://www.bbbsflint.org/event/2020-annual-spring-flower-sale/to your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends. This is one way to offset our financial losses as a result of COVID-19.

Fore The Kids’ Golf Tournament

Our 45^th Annual O’Reilley Golf Fore The Kids’ first golf event of the year is scheduled for June 19 at Flushing Golf and Country Club.  This event is very important to our agency, so at this time we are still planning to move forward.  We will continue to watch the recommendations from the CDC but are hopeful that we will be able to continue with this date and everyone will be ready for some fresh air and social interaction.

We are grateful to O’Reilley Auto Parts, AC Delco, Mike Soboleski and our Golf Committee for their commitment to make this the best tournament in our agency history. If you are interested in sponsorship or team information send an email to tjones@bbbsflint.org.

 Kids’ Orientation

Big Brothers Big Sisters will cancel the April 14, Kids’ Orientation scheduled for new matches. We plan to resume the Kids’ Orientation in May but will limit the number of participants to 10 per meeting. We will observe the recommended social distancing practices at our meetings.

Thank You 

We are so grateful to each of you for your patience, understanding and support during this time. Your health, safety and well-being are our top priority. If you have any questions or are interested in learning how you can be a help during this time of crisis please reach out to us at info@bbbsflint.org.

Together, We Are Defenders of Potential.

Reta V. Stanley, CEO