A local organization that supports children hosted a picnic at Sinsheimer Park in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, but this wasn’t just any regular picnic.
“This is our second annual Big Picnic. It's just an opportunity that we have where we get families to come out as well as their mentors and our littles so that they can be in community together," said Stacy Salame, Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo County Executive Director.
Members of Big Brothers Big Sisters gathered to enjoy food, face painting and games.
The organization pairs kids with adults or older teens for one-on-one mentorship and support. They meet frequently to do homework, activities, or simply check in and catch up.
Rhodora Forden has been a "Big" for the past four years.
“Give something back to the community, to the County of San Luis Obispo, and to spend time and share good experiences with children," Forden said.
Forden said that she and her Little, Gabriel, go on hikes, to the movies, or simply work on homework. She added why she likes attending the picnic.
“Meeting with other people, sharing all of our experiences, and you know, building up the community,” Forden said.
Another Big said that he started volunteering his freshman year of high school when he heard about the program in an Avid class.
“It’s been an amazing experience the whole way through. It’s forced me to get out of my comfort zone quite a bit, and like, I’ve become more social because of it, because I’ve always been kind of nervous talking, but with the help of Big Brothers and Sisters, I’ve been getting better at talking,” said Dennis Villegas.
He shared about the weekly activities he’s done with his Little.
“Paintings, we’ve done a tug of war contest before, we’ve done a water balloon fight," Villegas said.
Salame said the picnic also served as a place to enroll people as volunteers on-site, but for those who weren’t able to make it, they can sign up online.
“We’re especially in need of male mentors right now, so if there’s a few good men in the community who want to step up and get some of our boys off the wait list, we’d love to have them," Salame said.
You can learn more about the program at this link.
