Big Brothers Big Sisters hosts second annual breakfast for Rhode Island children

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Big Brothers Big Sisters is changing the future of young Rhode Islanders, one volunteer at a time.

BBBS volunteer Mike Kendra and his little brother Kayden were paired together two years ago, and since then, have had dozens of opportunities to explore Southern New England.

“Kayyden likes sports. We do a lot of different sports things, and Big Brothers, they arrange a lot of different events,” Kendra said.

“So, we’ve been to the Red Sox, we’ve been to the Providence Bruins, we’ve been to PC Friars, Kayyden is into bowling, we’ve been bowling a bunch of times, and he really liked the ski event that they did, so they coordinated some ski lessons down at Yawgoo, so we did that last year, that was great,” Kendra said.

“My favorite part was when we first met in bowling.” BBBS mentee Kayyden said.

While 6th grader Kayyden is a big fan of the experience now, it didn’t start that way.

“Honestly, my mom forced me,” Kayyden said, “because my mom doesn’t have the time to take me out to places that I like.”

While some experiences, such as shows at Providence Performing Arts Center, are donated by the organization, a majority of the donations come from the community through clothing.

“That’s the difference with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island,” BBBS RI CFO Jack Blatchford said. “Anything that’s donated stays in Rhode Island and goes directly to the kids of Rhode Island.”

Blatchford said last year, BBBS RI donated over $150,000 to other Rhode Island non-profits.

On Oct. 23, the non-profit will host its largest fundraiser of the year, the Big Breakfast.

“The Big Breakfast celebrates mentorship and honors those who have helped us along the way, and this year we’re honoring Ted Turnbull, who is one of our board members. And he started the big adventure… he has raised over $50,000 and has sent over 60 kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters to Yagoo valley. They’ve participated in five weeks of ski lessons,” BBBS COO Kaleigh Perkins said.

Anyone interested in donating to the non-profit or signing up to be a mentor can visit Big Brothers Big Sisters’ website here.