In May of 2009, I became friends with Lynn, a 26-year-old girl who I was matched with in the Friend 2 Friend Program of Jewish Big Brother Big Sisters that pairs volunteers and adults with disabilities in friendship. Throughout this year and a half in the program, I have learned that Lynn loves pizza and Zac Efron films; enjoys making art but doesn’t care much for museums. Her cheeks turn apple red when she talks about her boyfriend, and her eyes show a genuine sadness when she’s fighting with a friend.

Another thing that I’ve discovered is that Lynn cares just as much about other peoples’ friends and family as she does her own. She always asks me how my roommate’s classes are going or when my mom will be in town next. So, when I told her that my sister was pregnant, her face beamed with excitement.

For the next five months, Lynn kept tabs on how my sister was feeling, and we discussed our favorite girl names and what the baby might look like. When Mia Louise was born with blue eyes and a trace of brown hair, I called Lynn to share the news. I was immediately flooded with questions – “When was she born?…What’s her name?…What does she look like?” But, for the time being, the most important question was mine to ask. And when I asked her if she’d help me make a celebratory batch of cookies for my sister, the answer was an unequivocal “Yes.”

That Tuesday night, Lynn and I grabbed some pizza, suited up in aprons and got to work. In between cups of flour and teaspoons of cinnamon, I showed her pictures from my recent trip to Europe. Over heaps of brown sugar and cracked eggs, we laughed and shared stories from the weeks since we had last hung out. Lynn manned the stand mixer while I prepped the baking sheets, and we sat at the table together rolling balls of dough and dipping them in sugar. “This is fun,” she said through a smile.

I, of course, had no doubt in my mind that this would be fun. With a little trial and error, Lynn and I have found many things that we both enjoy — painting pottery, trying new restaurants, going to the movies, and dancing to Michael Jackson. Thanks to the Friend 2 Friend program, I have sparked a friendship with Lynn that would not otherwise exist. And this friendship I have, along with those of other volunteers, is one that means just as much to me as it does to my match.

Boston Public Libraries
All branches Accessible by T. 27 Branches; FREE kid friendly movies, story hours, special activities open to all. Provides FREE passes for local museums for library members (Boston Residents Only. Contact other area libraries for free passes.)
Call BPL 617-536-5400 or check the web site www.bpl.org for details.

• Children’s Museum:  Discounted pass $2.00 per person, up to 4 people.
• Harvard Museum of Natural History: Discounted pass - $4.00 entry fee per       person, will admit up to 4 visitors.
• Museum of Fine Arts: Pass entitles up to 2 people to $5.00 MFA general admission each and also entitles each visitor to upgrade to a special exhibition ticket for an additional $8.00 per person, for the same day only, subject to availability.
• Museum of Science:  Pass will admit up to 4 people FREE.

Swan Boats

Swan Boats at the Public Gardens:  Open April through mid-September.
$2.75 for 16 and older; $1.75 for children ages 2 to 15; $2.00 for seniors www.swanboats.com 
Boston Symphony Orchestra
FREE concert series - Community Chamber Concerts.  Sundays 3 pm. 310           Massachusetts Ave Boston. Call 617-266-1200 to reserve tickets. Accessible by T. Schedule can be found on their website (under Community).
Boston By Little Feet
A Children’s Tour of Boston - view the famous Freedom Trail through the eyes of children 6 to 12; $8.00 per person; FREE map and activity sheet; Tour lasts 60 minutes. Meet tour guide at the statue of Samuel Adams at the front end of Faneuil Hall on Congress St, Boston.  617-637-2345.   Accessible by T. Tours May – October. Fri/Sat 10:00 am; Sun 2:00 pm. 

I met someone through the Friend 2 Friend program who has been very nice to me. He is very understanding and knows where people are coming from. We have a good relationship. He was from a town where I lived for many years. We like doing the same things. He listens to my issues and sometimes gives advice.

I lost my parents and Marty stepped in and up to plate as a mentor and friend. We usually see each other every other week. Marty picks me up at work. I really look forward to our times together.

 

What made this seder different than all other seders (sorry we couldn’t resist)? Well to start this seder had innings for the “order of the seder”, led by a Red Sox clothed Moses and Yankee dressed Pharoah. Generously supported each year by the Joan A. Backman Memorial Passover Fund, over 200 “Bigs”, “Littles”, and “Littles” families dipped not once but twice in our chocolate fountain, crossed the Red Sea and sang to Schlock Rock songs like “Let’s Get This Seder Started.” There was an opportunity to make your own seder plate and matzah cover which pleased our most artistic Little Brothers and Little Sisters. The 10 Plagues were interactive and had our matches wearing masks (cattle) and sunglasses (darkness) and dining on red licorice (blood). Before everyone dug into the chocolate seder plate, over 100 “Littles” went searching for the afikomen. Talk about fun!

When we asked a Little Brother how many thumbs he’d give the seder he said ‘two thumbs AND two toes”. I wonder what Moses what would say?

Andy has been a Big Brother with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters since February, 2010. He is 31 and lives in Brookline.

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I’m not sure I’m even allowed to write this on JewishBoston.com, but it’s important that you know I’m not a Red Sox fan. It’s not that I don’t enjoy baseball; I was just raised as the son and grandson of fans of “another team.” Let’s leave it at that. My co-workers, all native Bostonians, give me a hard time for being a fan of the “other guys,” but I’ve gotten pretty good at giving it back. Mostly it’s not a problem. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve always been upfront about my fandom – that is, until I met Josh. 

Josh is my 7 year old “little” through Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters.  We were matched about six months ago.  He is one of the sweetest, funniest little boys you’ll ever meet.  And of course he’s a little bit mischievous! The first few times we hung out together, Josh brought out the camp counselor/disciplinarian in me. That wasn’t really fun for either of us. Pretty quickly I realized that my role was not to be a fill-in parent but just to be a fun “big brother” and give Josh a chance to hang out and play.  Since then, we’ve had a ton of fun together. We went go-karting and took a shot at mini-golf.  Sometimes we just hang out and play Pokemon or Wii. We’re still working on getting Josh on a bike without training wheels, but he’s getting a lot better. For all of our fun, there was one thing Josh wanted to do that I hadn’t come through on yet. He wanted to go to a ball game.

So on the advice of a friend who is also a “Big”, I picked up tickets to the Lowell Spinners for a Sunday afternoon game. We talked about it for a few weeks before the game, and we were both pretty psyched.  The week before we were supposed to go, JBBBS threw us a curve ball- two tickets to a Red Sox game at Fenway the same day as the Spinners game!  I didn’t have to ask Josh what he wanted to do. He is a huge Red Sox fan and had never been to a Sox game at Fenway before.  We were Fenway bound and he was super excited!

I might have been raised a fan of the other team, but I was also raised that you stay through the last out of a game. I didn’t want to be responsible for teaching Josh anything else. So I did my research before the game and found all of the kid friendly parts of Fenway. Josh and I were going to make it through the whole game, even if we had to spend a few innings at the new Wally’s World playground.

The seats JBBBS set us up with were amazing and we could see just about everything (which Sox fans will have to admit, is not true of a lot of seats at Fenway). Josh just kept marvelling at parts of the stadium that I hadn’t even noticed before.  And he could always tell me exactly where Wally was in the stadium. 

In the fourth inning, we walked down to get Josh a slice of pizza from the kosher machine. I was worried that he might be getting bored, so I offered to take him to Wally’s World to play and get a picture with Wally. Josh’s response? “Um, can we go back to watch the game now please?” I couldn’t have been prouder! We went straight back to our seats. In the bottom of the ninth, I even had to cheer with him when the Red Sox scored on a blown throw to first by the pitcher – and won the game!  Josh spent the whole ride home talking about that final play.

When we got back to his house, Josh still couldn’t stop talking about the game (his mom told me that he didn’t stop talking about it for a whole week). Once Josh was out of earshot, I finally confessed my secret to his mom. She thought it best not to tell him… at least until he’s in college. I’m hoping he doesn’t read this piece!

My biggest concern before I started JBBBS was that I wouldn’t be able to find the time to give to my “little” every month.  And honestly, it isn’t always easy. But I am so glad that I always do make the time. Hanging out with Josh has turned out to be one of the most important, fun, and rewarding appointments in my entire calendar. I’m already looking forward to our next complete game together!

Are you looking for a way to get involved and make a huge difference in a local child’s life? Consider volunteering as a Big Brother or Big Sister with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters. For more information or to apply visit, www.jbbbs.org or call Robin Cohen at 617-558-6535.

Seder attendees were treated to guitar music to begin the seder. Friends were invited to singalong as Rabbi Jay Perlman of Temple Beth Shalom in Needham led the traditional seder. In addition to Dayenu, one participant led the crowd in a wonderful rendition of “Lo Yisa Goy.”

Friend 2 Friend Director Jan Klein, commented that this was by far the largest and most spirited crowd to attend the annual event, “I am always so impressed by the spirit and joy that our matches share as they celebrate this special holiday together. The comraderie that our Friends share was particularly special at this year’s seder.”

The event was generously funded by a consortium of Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) member organizations.

Click here for pictures from this great event!

Dr. Brooks shared stories from his work at McLean Hospital with youth that were labeled as destined to fail. When Dr. Brooks spoke with those that had defied the odds, each one cited an adult that believed in them unconditionally. He urged those in attendance to be the “charismatic adult” that makes the difference for children on the brink. After hearing various strategies from Dr. Brooks, one social worker in attendance said “Robert Brooks was excellent- engaging, funny, and had great stories to illustrate his points. I received ideas and solutions that will change my life as a professional and a parent.” Following his talk, Dr. Brooks met with members in attendance and signed copies of his books, including ”Raising Resilient Children : Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child”.

Sarah Ward, M.S. is considered one of the foremost experts on executive function skills in children. Ward is dedicated to developing innovatitve treatment strategies and educating the community to understand, care for, and celebrate learning and behavior-based differences. She spoke to the audience about strategies that they could use in their professional work with children as well as their own children. Many attendees found Ward to be “inspiring, motivating and extremely helpful.”

After two successful conferences, JBBBS’ Vice President of Programs and Services Lisa G. Cohen, LICSW hopes that this will become not only an annual event, but a means for practioners to share ideas, “After receiving such positive feedback, we hope that participants will remain in touch with our agency and together we can work to best facilitate and promote resilience in children.”

The conference was subsidized by the Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters Judge Lewis Goldberg Endowment for Educational Programs.

Click here for more pictures from this great event.