Progressive Wednesday

Be a big brother

I’m a middle child (with middle child syndrome). Two sisters, one younger one older. It’s funny to think about my “big” sister protecting me in our youth, she’s half my size, but that’s exactly what she did. In fact, and this is totally true, when I was “roughed up” in a hockey game just recently, she started yelling, “Hey! That’s my brother!” Some brothers might have been embarrassed; I was a touched. Not because I thought she would jump over the boards and “drop the gloves,” but because she thought she would. The point is, she has been always been there for me, young and…well…older, willing to stand up for me when necessary, but more importantly, always setting a great example.

Unfortunately, so many kids grow up without a brother or sister to open doors, or show them how to open doors themselves. All too often these kids head down a road of destruction, and sometimes self-destruction. They need a mentor, a “big brother. Enter Big Brothers Big Sisters.

In their own words:

The Big Brothers Big Sisters mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth.

How effective is the program? According to an impact study of the BBBS program, children matched with “bigs” are:

• More confident in their schoolwork performance.
• Able to get along better with their families.
• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs.
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol.
• 52% less likely to skip school.

Here’s the problem. The program is quite short on male volunteers. In the Erie county branch, female “bigs” are matched up with male “littles.” This is only acceptable up to age ten, for obvious reasons. There are waiting lists years long, and children are slipping through the cracks. The call has gone out from Lovie Smith and Tony Dungee for more male volunteers, and now it’s going out from Progressive Wednesday. If you’ve gt a few extra hours a week, sign up to volunteer in your neck of the woods. Instead of going outside to shoot some hoops by yourself, take a “little brother” with you. It’s the best thing you can do with your time.

The Nitty-Gritty from the Twin Cities: More than Mowing

I am not a rich man. I have an okay job with an okay income. I live in an okay house in an okay part of an okay city. I do not pay people to help with everyday home upkeep. I vacuum my carpets, do my laundry, shovel my show, and mow my lawn.

However, if some kid came by and said “I'll mow your lawn for $5, Mister Tall Guy,– I'd pull out a sweet Lincoln for little Jimmy and down an ice-cold Rolling Rock while he sweats away. That $5 would be an absurd bargain for me.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you AmeriCorps. A program where, each year, thousands of young men and women dedicate a year of their lives to service – “ doing all sorts of difficult and often-thankless tasks. What do they get for that year? A stipend of not even $10,000, health insurance, and an educational scholarship of $4725 (barely a semester of school at most public colleges nowadays).

Think about that. Even if you count the scholarship as money in hand, that's $7.50 per hour over the course of a year. And those AmeriCorps members aren't schlepping coffee or wiping down tables at Chipotle. They're building houses, tutoring children, feeding the poor, cleaning up polluted sites, and so on and so forth.

Some conservatives will mutter, “You shouldn't have to pay volunteers.– Well, the military is all-volunteer, isn't it? No one would ever dare suggest not paying the military. There are many ways to serve America selflessly, and our government should encourage that in whatever way possible.

I can appreciate the libertarian view of limiting government as much as possible. However, the practical, real-world, value-oriented part of me sees AmeriCorps as one of the most absurdly great bargains out there for my tax dollars. Now, if I can only find a kid to mow my lawn for $5.