Building Healthy Communities with 'Bigs' and 'Littles'

Bremer and the Otto Bremer Foundation are working on building healthy communities through partnerships like the one with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Western Wisconsin and The University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF). The UWRF Friends Program is a student organization that serves youth from the community through one-to-one mentoring relationships in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Friends program originated to provide college students, who do not have their own transportation an opportunity to be involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The college students meet their ‘Littles’ on campus and participate in fun and inexpensive activities around campus that are set up by the Friends Leadership Team. Some examples of the activities include: ice skating, day with the physics department, trip to the campus radio and television studio and scavenger hunts.

The Big Brother Big Sister program received a grant from Otto Bremer Foundation to support its work in the St. Croix Valley area.

Maltee McMahon, NRS, Wisconsin