Party time for Big Brothers, Sisters

The biggest gift the kids get is time from a caring adult.

By JEANNE STARMACK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

GIRARD — Santa gives gifts at Christmastime — any child knows that, and the Santa at the Big Brothers & Sisters of Mahoning Valley Christmas party was no exception.

After eating a catered lunch Saturday afternoon at Girard High School, kids lined up for some quality lap time with the big man in the red suit.

Each child at the party would receive around six or seven gifts, said the group’s executive director, Brian Higgins, as he took time out from handling the festivities.

The community responded through giving trees with plenty of presents for more than 100 children, he said, so Santa had lots of help.

The kids would be getting practical gifts such as hats and gloves, but toys too, he said.

Small Smiles Dental Centers of Youngstown, which serves children on Medicaid, was there to hand out free toothbrushes.

Looking around the cafeteria, where about 175 adults and children were gathered, it was clear that what was being given the most at the party was the gift of time.

That gift, which Big Brothers and Sisters mentors give all year to children who lack a father or mother figure in their lives, is the one that counts the most, Higgins said.

Mentors, he said, don’t have to have special skills. They don’t have to be a certain age.

“We get a variety of people from college to senior citizens,” he said. “A lot of people have the misconception — do I have to be a teacher or a social worker? It’s just someone who can give them attention.”

That attention can be as simple as a trip to the mall or help studying for a test, he said.

But it can be something pretty awesome too, like, maybe — a 9-year-old’s first airplane ride.

“We went to ride an airplane,” said Domenique Hall of Girard, who also seemed pretty impressed that she and Big Sister Rebecca Coyne, 21, of Boardman, went all the way to New Castle, Pa., to do it.

The pair had gone over to the New Castle airport before the party, Coyne said, because it was giving free rides.

The two also go to the park sometimes, said Domenique, and to Coyne’s house to play video games.

The group named Coyne, who said she’s been involved with it for about a year and a half, as Big Sister of the Year.

What prompted her to become involved with the organization? “It just seemed like something I wanted to do.”

Joe Schiavoni, 28, of Girard, was named Big Brother of the Year. He also said he just decided to call the group one day. With it for about two years, he mentors Jose Pagan, 15, of Campbell.

Named Volunteer of the Year was John Simeone, who owns the group’s building on U.S. Route 422.

Big Brothers & Sisters has about 170 matched pairs in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, said Colleen Dippolito, who also was helping to run the party.

The group even has a school-based mentoring program, in which it pairs elementary pupils with high school students.

Not every child at the party had a match, though.

Chase Leventry, 12, of Austintown, has been on the group’s waiting list for about three years, said his mother, Rochelle.

The group has about 40 kids on its waiting list, and most of them are boys, Higgins said.

There are more single mothers out there, he said, “and our need has always been in finding male volunteers.”

His mother would really like to see him matched with a Big Brother.

Chase has never met his dad, she said, and the major male figure in his life, her father, died when he was little.

“I’m a tomboyish type. I try to teach him,” she said.

Chase likes sports. He enjoys playing baseball, and maybe he’d like to give fishing a try.

Rochelle doesn’t like to put the worms on the hooks. Chase says he’ll do it for her. But maybe some guy who isn’t too squeamish about it will call Big Brothers and Sisters at (330) 545-0002. Then he and Chase could go drown some worms together.

starmack@vindy.com