Every year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County celebrates the power of mentoring as it hosts its annual Dream BIG Gala event.
“This is our annual fundraising event. It’s our biggest event of the year. We will formally award our Big of the Year,” Tracy Anderson, the community outreach and volunteer manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, tells Madison365. “It should be a lot of fun. We are really looking forward to it.”
Bigs, Littles, BBBS staff and leadership and community partners will be in attendance for the 2023 Dream BIG Gala, which will take place Friday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase our work for the community. It’s also a chance to raise funds which will go directly to support our program, but we’re also trying to recruit more mentors and make sure everyone knows what our program is about and have them be advocates for us,” Bethany Ordaz, community engagement & events manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, tells Madison365. “Hopefully, they hear about somebody looking for a volunteer opportunity, or somebody’s interested in helping out with kids and they think, ‘Oh, Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great fit.’ So the Dream BIG Gala is our way to sort of have a big audience all at once and spread the word.”
During the pandemic, BBBS did outdoor annual Dream BIG Gala events over the past two years, after hosting a virtual event in 2020.
“This is our first time being indoors in three years, so we’re excited about that. We’re excited to have a ballroom event like we have had for so many years. It’s going to be great,” Ordaz says.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County empowers children to reach their full potential by creating and supporting strong and enduring one-on-one mentoring relationships throughout Madison and Dane County.
Their annual Dream BIG Gala event will feature music and dancing (featuring DJ Pain 1), a cocktail reception, games and raffles, a live and silent auction and the 2023 Big of the Year Awards.
The special guest of the evening will be Judge Everett Mitchell, a Dane County Circuit Court Judge and former Big Brother himself.
Anderson and Dee Star, the host of the Outtadeeboxpodcast, will be the hosts of the event. This will be Anderson’s first year attending the Dream BIG event as a BBBS employee. She started working for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County last fall.
“‘I’m just looking forward to having a great time and seeing all of the people and all of the great auction items,” Anderson says. “We have got some fun things in store with the music and dancing and great speakers and all that. It’s going to be a Friday night and a chance for people to get all dressed up.”
Ordaz says they are expecting 600-700 people.
“We’re actually recognizing five Bigs of the year overall,” Ordaz says. “Our Dane County Big of the Year is Aaron Zutz, and he works at Findorff, and he and his little brother will be there and we’ll have a little video about them and formally award him at the event.”
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is open to all youth ages 6-18 who want a mentor, and there is no cost to participate. As the Littles in the program are overwhelmingly kids of color, BBBS is in need of mentors of color, especially. Only 3 percent of the Bigs in BBBS of Dane County are African-American, for example, and the majority of those are women.
“We are seeing some progress which is really positive. But we definitely need more mentors, especially mentors of color, and we do have more kids of color that are waiting on the waitlist,” says Anderson, who has been in the role of community outreach for BBBS for about 8 months. “So, on average, the kids on the waitlist are waiting 180 days, but the kids of color seem to be waiting longer. We are definitely seeing like twice as many Bigs applying every month, but we still have a long way to go.
“We have about 339 Bigs total, and only 10 of them are Black. So I’m really just trying to be everywhere all the time, just to spread the message,” Anderson says. “Of course, we want to continue having more Bigs of all walks of life come in to mentor, but we do have a specific need for males — and especially males of color.”
The BBBS match benefits both the Big and the Little so much, according to Anderson and Ordaz.
“We really can see how the match benefits both. Being a Big can be a lot of fun …. taking your Little to all of these fun and exciting places and spending some quality time with them. Oftentimes, it’s an excuse to do many fun things that you normally wouldn’t do,” Ordaz says. “The Littles become part of your whole family – your friends know them, you’re parents know them. The Littles become part of your whole circle, which is great.”
There is also an option, through BBBS of Dane County, to be a Big Couple and Big Family.
“A lot of people don’t realize that this is also an option … to be a Big Couple or a Big Family. They represent about 10% of our matches,” Ordaz says.
“There’s a lot of great guys in our community who I think would make fantastic Bigs. So we’re just trying to get the word out. Trying to encourage them to sign up. It’s fun and it’s very fulfilling.”
Anderson says that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County has made a huge effort to be many places in the community like the Madison Public Market or Breese Stevens Field.
“We’re trying to be a part of a lot of different things,” she says. “I think that Big Brothers Big Sisters has a great brand and I think when people hear our name it often puts a smile on their face. I think a lot of people don’t realize that we do have a waitlist. They’re very just genuinely shocked when I say we have 170 kids that are waiting.
“I think when people see us out, they just think about the organization itself but don’t think, ‘Gosh, there are actually kids waiting.”
Ordaz says that she understands that this might not be the right time for some people to become a mentor, but should something change, BBBS could be a great option.
“Right now, if you don’t think it’s a good time for you, it could be in the next few years. So here’s some general information for you because you might also know someone,” Ordaz says. “I’ve talked to people, too, since I’ve been in the role and they have come back and said, ‘You know what, last year wasn’t good. I started a new job but now things are different.’ Or they might have a friend that’s looking for an opportunity, as well.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County also has other options beyond their community-based mentoring programs. “MentorU” provides one-to-one mentoring to high school youth and “School Friends” invite volunteers to spend time with a child at his or her school.
“So I work with the community-based program, but we do have some site-based programs that people might not be aware of either — our MentorU program, for example, with mentors that meet once a month at Marshall High School,” Anderson says. “And it’s really just to be there to help kids with college readiness and workforce.
“We also have ‘School Friends.’ I think prior to the pandemic, if people were familiar with the organization, they probably knew a lot about School Friends …they were very familiar with it,” she continues. “And School Friends is now back. That is a site-based program working with students grades 1-8 meeting one time a week for 30 to 60 minutes. That’s another option; people can check it out on the website.”
The upcoming Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County’s Dream BIG Gala is a chance to learn about all of BBBS programs. For the event, cocktail attire is suggested. Traditionally, it’s a fun and inspirational event with a lot of great energy.
“We have Bigs and Littles that attend the event together. So all of the tables usually have Bigs and Littles seated together and meeting other Bigs and Littles,” Ordaz says. “It’s a great chance to get a one-on-one experience and to interact with some of the people that are directly in the program.”
For inquiries, sponsorship opportunities, and donations for the 2023 Dream BIG Gala, please contact Bethany Ordaz, community engagement & events manager,
at [email protected] or 608-661-5437 ext. 1111.
