INITIATIVES
The Ann Arbor story is one of many across the country. For example, Mark Tillman, the Midwestern Region vice president of the fraternity, has not only challenged members of Alpha to be big brothers, he is one—to his little brother Crispin. In East St. Louis, Ill., Delta Epsilon Lambda Chapter is levering the mentorship of Little Brother Alonzo by Big Brother and Alpha member Jeremy Harmon. Altogether, they are encouraging men in the city to mentor young men and boys into lives of greater character. A photograph of the two has been used in posters to promote the BBBS effort. Frank Duffy was initiated at Delta Theta Chapter at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, just ahead of Dale Long. Duffy made it a habit to always encourage the young brothers of
Mentoring HELP YOUNG SON OF LATE ALPHA MAN
Big Brother Mark Tillman with his Little Brother Crispin.
Delta Theta to step up and mentor as Big Brothers. In 1974, Dale Long said, yes! Brother Long has provided service to six Little Brothers and nationwide leadership to Big Brothers Big Sisters ever since. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. This belief operates particularly for children who are in single-parent and lowincome families or from households in which a parent is incarcerated. This belief has driven Big Brothers Big Sisters to become the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network. To make meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers and children, Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support, which is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. H
For more information, visit www.mentoringbrothers.org.
Big Brother Matthew Coats with his Little Brother Dorrian. Winter 2011 H THE SPHINX 45