MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1999

Center looking for big brothers

By Trond M Vagen

On-line Forty-Niner

For children visiting the Cal State Long Beach Interfaith Center today, a family enlargement is at hand.

The Interfaith Center and the Big Brothers Association of Los Angeles have a program during Kaleidoscope in which little children waiting for Big Brothers will be escorted around CSULB by student volunteers and shown the different organizations.

"This is the second year we're doing this," said Mary Kay Will, the Methodist campus minister of the Interfaith Center. "The students take the kids around and play games with them at the different stands."

The program was implemented as a service project to the children waiting for their Big Brothers and to give students experience in working with children, she said.

Little boys often have to wait up to two years for a Big Brother, while girls usually get Big Sisters within two months, she said.

"I think the program really helps," Will said, "and it also takes some pressure away from the kids' mothers, who often are single parents."

This year, the program does not have as many volunteers as last year and the ministers at the Interfaith Center are a little concerned.

"We would really like to see volunteers coming in today," she said. "They only have to work with the kids for three hours, and it's valuable experience. We'll accept volunteers until Kaleidoscope starts."

The students' jobs are pretty simple, according to Will.

"Each student volunteer takes one or two children and escorts them around the fair, visiting the stands of all the different organizations. After three hours of escorting, the students can enjoy the rest of the fair for themselves."

As the waiting period for a Big Brother is so long, this program helps ease the wait for the kids, Will said.

Now in its second year, the program could not exist without the help from student volunteers. Last year, young adults from the local churches were used as well as volunteering students, she said.