The Value of Partnerships

Active collaboration with local schools, organizations, youth-serving entities, and businesses enhances Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge’s ability to serve area children and collectively leverage community impacts and resources. These strategic partnerships help fill service gaps effectively, ensuring our programming complements rather than overlaps with existing initiatives, making BBBSCBR a unique and essential contributor to our community's youth development landscape.

To enroll youth and families, we collaborate with school counselors, teachers, and administrators as well as community organizations to identify children who would benefit from our program. We partner with Madison House, the independent volunteer center for students at UVA, and local businesses and organizations to recruit potential volunteers. We partner with the Community Attention Youth Internship Program (CAYIP) and local employers, including ACAC, Boar’s Head Resort, several City of Charlottesville departments, Fry’s Spring Beach Club, Ready Kids, Shenandoah National Park Trailblazers, and more to provide summer employment and internship opportunities for our teenaged Littles.

We also partner with local businesses and organizations on events and programming, such as:

• games for Matches with the UVA Men’s Basketball team in conjunction with the CavFutures Foundation.

• hikes/picnics with Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Shenandoah National Park Trust, and Public Lands. Our next one is in April at Sherando Lake!

• clinics hosted by Central Virginia Pickleball for our Matches to learn pickleball. CEVAPB also partnered with BBBSCBR on our inaugural pickleball tournament which raised funds in support of and generated awareness for our work while building our community network. Over 27 local businesses supported the event. Planning is currently underway for our 2025 clinics and event.

BBBSCBR recognizes the value of these partnerships and the many more not listed. We are grateful for how these collaborations further our mission and work while helping us all be good stewards of community support.

Enjoy the highlights of a few recent collaborations from our partners’ perspectives!

Capital Spaceship

BBBSCBR was introduced to the creators of Aedify’s Capital Spaceship, an interactive sci-fi game that helps build financial literacy. Still in the testing phase, we signed on for the game to be part of the Fall 2024 Financial Literacy Curriculum for our teen Littles.

Partnering with our Bigs and Littles “enabled us to teach financial literacy using our computer game with a new group of kids, outside of the traditional school settings that we have worked in. The more kids who play our game, the more kids who develop and practice financial literacy skills. For us, it was [meaningful] working with an organization who is committed to and has resources to encourage Bigs and Littles to learn personal finance in ways beyond the traditional classroom setting.”

Our favorite moment “was watching the first child complete the game, from our end! We can see progress by level in real-time and we saw them get stuck for a while on Level 4 which is when taxes start, and then figure it out and get past it. Outside of a mandatory school setting, Level 4 can sometimes discourage kids, but seeing them find a way past it (and thus, learning how to do simplified taxes) was gratifying - we know that just by getting past level 4, they now understand how the progressive tax system works, something that even alludes many adults.”

Additionally, they shared that “since the fall, we have continued to improve the game, partly based on feedback from the Bigs and Littles.” We are “proud of them for completing the game and accomplishing the game’s objectives!” 

Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry

After connecting at an event hosted by the CavFutures Foundation, the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry hosted Matches for cooking classes, learning necessary kitchen skills through fun, interactive lessons while also making muffins, winter fruit salad, egg roll ups, and more. Littles even got to take home some kitchen utensils and supplies to practice what they learned. Our Matches unanimously enjoyed the sessions and are looking forward to future offerings which are in the works for this summer.

Our friends at Loaves & Fishes shared that they “enjoyed watching the Bigs and Littles interact with one another—and to see how useful the experience was/is for growing independence.” During a session, “one of the Littles announced how much she didn’t like something, but then when she tried it, she loved it. [We] also loved watching the growth in confidence after affirmation of a job well-done.” Since the classes, “several of the Littles have visited us for food, and then they could see how the operation worked.” It was also a “great way for the Bigs to understand what a food pantry is and possible ways to volunteer or interact again with the Littles.”

Charlottesville Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC)

Charlottesville PATC wanted to better connect with underserved communities and through outreach formed a partnership with BBBSCBR that began two years ago. “The focus has been exposing children and teens to some of the local federal lands including the Shenandoah National Park and US Forest Service/Blue Ridge Parkway.” PATC secured a grant from Public Lands with the same aim - to reach out to underserved communities and provide opportunities to get out into natural settings, do activities to experience the outdoors and learn about these lands. The grant has helped to offer funds for gas money and lunch for some of the events.

 “It has been very gratifying to see the children and teens enjoy hiking, learning about Shenandoah National Park including the plants, animals, and geological features. Their enthusiasm and growing interest in spending time in the outdoors has been meaningful, because it has been a desire [for the club for many years] to reach other communities…and now is being fulfilled with the partnership between BBBS and PATC.”

A Club member shared that “a favorite moment was at our last event in Shenandoah National Park where there was a young boy that did not really want to go on the hike. I walked with him and told him a story that I made up. It diverted his attention for a little while about how steep we were going up the hill. Soon the Ranger pointed out some caterpillars, then there were rocks to climb, and flowers to investigate. He had such a good time and it made the whole day worthwhile.

PATC is really enjoying the partnership. We are branching out to find new state and federal lands to investigate and experience with BBBS.  We look forward to the upcoming hike at Sherando Lake.”