Holiday Volunteering Is In the Air

Austin area Sister to Sister matches have been very generous with their time over the past few months! On November 19, a team of Sister to Sister matches (Little Sisters ages 11-17 and their Big Sisters) gave their time to help stock the food pantry at Caritas of Austin, a local refugee resettlement organization committed to fighting hunger and homelessness in our community. Dressed in colorful BBBS t-shirts, matches canvassed the streets of the Cherrywood neighborhood in Northeast Austin to collect non-perishable food items to be donated to the Caritas food pantry. The event was a wonderful opportunity to teach Little Sisters about the importance of volunteering their time to help others and a good way to encourage their communication skills. At the end of the day, Sister to Sister matches collected more than 500 pounds of food!

Sister to Sister matches met again only a few weeks later on December 7 to help wrap Christmas gifts for the children living at SafePlace Austin. SafePlace is a not for profit organization that exists to end rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence and offers services such as community education and an emergency shelter. Matches learned about the organization while wrapping gifts and enjoying good company and hot cocoa.

Many thanks to those matches who participated! I look forward to our next event... -- Emma