Two Bellevue residents receive Big Brothers/Big Sisters awards

April 14, 2009 2:36 pm

Bellevue resident Jan Bostick was recently named 2008 Washington State Big Brother of the Year and honored as one of four recipients of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound’s annual Terry Baker Memorial “Match of the Year” awards.

Another Bellevue resident and BBBSPS volunteer Lisa Flowers was honored with one of four Terry Baker Memorial “Match of the Year” awards, as well. BBBSPS presents these awards to volunteers who were exemplary mentors to their Littles in the previous year.

The Bellevue residents were honored in front of a crowd of over 600 people at the 2009 Little Lunch with Big Impact Event on March 26. The annual event raised over $166,000 to support BBBSSP programs.

“We’re excited to have such amazing individuals supporting our agency,” said Tina Podlodowski, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound. “I am very proud to be able to honor them with these awards.”

Bostick and his Little Brother, Alex, have been part of the community-based program at BBBSPS since August 1999. Bostick, a 67-year-old sales professional is a good, consistent role-model in 18-year-old Little Brother Alex’s life. They meet almost weekly and follow-up breakfast with a movie every time. Not only does Bostick mentor Alex and advise him whenever Alex needs help, but he also wrote a letter of recommendation for him recently, to help him in applying for college scholarships.

Similarly, Flowers and her Little Sister, Jada, have been part of the school-based program at BBBSPS since April 2008, meeting for about an hour on school grounds once per week. Flowers, a 46-year-old homemaker, is a dedicated mentor to the 8-year-old. Flowers consistently meets with Jada and spends quality time with her. Jada trusts her mentor enough to share everything with her and ask for her advice.

In addition to giving Jada tips on developing good friendships in her class, Flowers also makes sure that Jada doesn’t get too lonely. They spend a lot of time doing arts and craft activities and building a toy house that Flowers gifted Jada.

For more information on how to get involved, visit www.bbbs.org/pugetsound or call 1.877.700.BIGS.