Vancouver, BC, April 16, 2014 – Shaune and Obinna, a pair by matched with the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver program, have dedicated the coming year to random acts of kindness.
Having just celebrated their one year anniversary together, the match will not do one of the activities on their fun list until they have completed one of the activities on their good deed list. Big Brother Shaune suggested the idea to enlighten Obinna about the power of community service.
“We had one year of all fun,” explains Big Brother Shaune, “but I wanted to also teach him about the importance of giving back and how imperative it is to the community.”
The enthusiastic eight year old immediately agreed to the idea and the pair penned their random acts of kindness list, including anything from putting change in a parking meter that has run out to visiting lonely seniors in care homes. With 42 items on the current list, Shaune is almost apologetic in saying it is by no means complete.
“Every Big Brothers match is incredible in their own right,” according to Sandra Hirota, the Mentoring Coordinator at Big Brother who oversees Shaune and Obinna’s match. “But these two are special. It’s amazing the difference Shaune has made in Obinna’s life and how they’re taking things one step further by involving the community.”
Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver is so inspired by the match’s ambitions that they have made them the face of their new superhero campaign which will strive to inform men ‘it doesn’t take much to be a superhero’ in an effort to recruit more Big Brothers. The charity is also having capes made which will be designated to a match in each of their service areas monthly. The Big and Little caped crusaders will then follow Shaune and Obnna’s example by setting out to complete their own good deeds in their respective communities.
One of the acts of kindness on their list is to help Big Brothers recruit more volunteers. Big Brothers currently has a waitlist of over 100 children who need a Big Brother. Given Obinna waited a full year to be matched with Shaune, the pair is passionate to alleviate the wait for other local boys.
About Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver
Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver helps boys aged 7 – 14 who have limited to no contact with their fathers and are, as a result, considered at-risk to not reach their full potential. Matching them with positive adult male role models, the charity sees compelling impacts on boys who develop more confidence, perform better academically and are less likely to succumb to peer pressure. One in four local children is raised without an active father.
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