TRAVERSE CITY, MI: Marcus, a freshman at college, gives a lot of the credit for his success to his Big Brother, John. Mostly, though, he thanks his mother, Melissa, for signing him up 9 years ago to become a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan. Big Brothers Big Sisters of NWMI is this region’s largest donor-supported volunteer network of long-term mentors for youth, providing careful matching, screening and ongoing support for “Bigs,” “Littles,” and families. The agency serves over 350 of northwest Michigan’s at-risk youth each year. January is a time when Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates its Bigs. Coming off one of the most challenging fundraising years ever, this year we also want to use this opportunity to pay tribute to our donors, the often unsung heroes whose funding makes possible the professional match support and structure that bring people like John and Marcus together and help sustain our mentoring matches over time. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we know that longer matches yield strong results for our Littles – improvements in academic performance, behavior and relationships at home and elsewhere, according to independent studies. Mentoring Month is a big one for Big Brothers Big Sisters of NWMI, a time when many parents get their children signed up and lots of volunteers come forward to help. We expect that to especially be true this month with economic circumstances creating a greater need for more families to have professionally backed long-term mentoring support. The good news is that many men and women who want to help and don’t have time to mentor can make it possible for our agency to have the necessary match support to make more matches possible. Donations of all sizes help, whether from corporations, private foundations, government or individuals. National Mentoring Month is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, and the Corporation for National and Community Service with the understanding that mentoring “assures brighter futures for our young people.” The goal of Big Brothers Big Sisters of NWMI is to become the extra support that so many parents seek – to help their children succeed and break negative cycles too often linked to young people who grow up in poverty and single-parent homes. It is a worthwhile investment that has dividends for the entire community. To all Bigs, families, corporate and educational partners, and individual donors who are a part of our network, thank you for working together to help northwestern Michigan’s children. Learn how you can be a part of our work by going to bigsupnorth.com or by calling 231-946-2447.