Friday, October 31, 1997
Board announces attempt to revive organization
By BRIAN BETHEL / Abilene Reporter-News
Board members of Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Abilene announced
Thursday that they plan to work to save the ailing organization.
"The board has overwhelmingly decided to cease (dissolving
the group) and re-open," said Forrest McCray, a local attorney
and board member. "We feel the support necessary for the
organization to survive is here and real."
The Big Brothers-Big Sisters program, which matches children
ages 7-14 with adult role models of the same sex, has seen rocky
times of late.
A lack of sufficient funding and volunteers was blamed in the
group's original decision to shut down in mid-September.
But the success of a largely private drive to raise necessary
dollars for the organization to survive has inspired board members
to give it another go, said Bob Kuykendall, local businessman
and board member.
"The outside help we've received has already done so much,"
he said. "We didn't want them to lose the momentum."
Various fund-raisers throughout Abilene, spearheaded by Trace
Michaels, program director for Power 103, Y99 and 106 "The
Bear," have already netted $52,000 for the group, Kuykendall
said.
"Our big thing is to get the money to get going again,
and it looks like with the continued help of the people of Abilene,
we'll get there," he said. "We plan to start re-organizing
the board next week and then go from there."
McCray said that the next step for the board, after its reorganization,
would be to hire an executive director and a caseworker.
Both of those positions are necessary, according to national
Big Brothers-Big Sisters guidelines.
"The two steps are in many ways dependent on each other,"
he said. "Your executive director in many ways determines
what is desired in a case worker. So, the executive director's
position is a very large priority at this time."
Kuykendall, who is chairman of the board's nominations committee,
said that inquiries designed to fill necessary positions have
met with great enthusiasm.
Such support as evidenced in the various fund-raising drives,
and the enthusiasm of potential board members is typical, he said.
"I'm a native of Abilene, and I can honestly say that
the caring attitude of this community runs deeper than any other
place I know," he said. "It was a difficult decision
to dissolve in the first place, but with the support we've received
we're going forward with great enthusiasm."
Kuykendall said the children involved in Big Brothers-Big Sisters
are given an invaluable gift -- role models they can look up to
and learn from.
By the same token, the people of Abilene have demonstrated
a similar willingness to help and to heal, he said.
"When you can change a child's life for the better, you've
done a marvelous thing," he said. "Children need someone
to help them when they need it and to care about them when they're
alone. With the help and support we have seen, our children are
in good hands."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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