Michigan State Police Partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters

Michigan State Police and Big Brothers Big Sisters are partnering to provide service to at-risk youth.

After announcing a partnership with the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), Executive Director Shari Davis-Schoech of Livingston County says she is “eternally grateful” for the decision to choose their organization to partner with. “Whether it’s local or county or state, I don’t think we could do as good a job as we do of keeping kids safe without the involvement of police departments,” she said. “They help us on so many levels on so many different things.” According to a press release from the Michigan State Police, the Memorandum of Agreement between the two parties is an “effort to help reduce delinquency, alcohol/tobaccos use, violence and truancy, among other things, of at-risk youth.”  Working …

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Rockin' Readers Rolls Back for Another Year at Lakes

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Livingston County kicks off another year of the reading and mentor program.

For Hartland High School senior Allison Gohl, volunteering as a Big Sister with the Rockin’ Readers program at Lakes Elementary School for the second year in a row was an easy decision. “My kid last year was so adorable,” 17-year-old Allison said. “She made my day a lot better usually. It was the best 45 minutes of my day.” The Rockin’ Readers program is run by the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Livingston County and is designed for kids who need extra support with reading. It takes place during the school day at Lakes and uses high school students as mentors. “They’re such good role models for the kids,” Lakes principal Lindsey Smither said. “These high school kids are phenomenal.” It’s a program that almost never was, however, according to …

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From the Hartland Community

Rockin' Readers Celebrates at Lakes

Big Brothers Big Sisters hosts reading celebration during the month of March.

The Rockin’ Readers program at Lakes Elementary ended in March with a reading celebration for Lakes Elementary School students and their Hartland High School reading buddies. This literacy improvement mentoring program was facilitated by Big Brothers Big Sisters and supervised by Customer Relations Specialist, Laura Klimek.  The Brighton Target store donated goodie bags for the “Bigs” and the “Littles”, and refreshments were served. Trained by Lakes’ reading specialist, high school students went to Lakes Elementary School once a week since the fall to read with their Lakes buddies.  “We are so grateful for this important program and have seen our students reading skills progress and improve over the time that their Rockin’Reader buddies …

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'Bowl for Kids Sake' Hopes for Help

Striking Lanes in Hartland hosts annual Big Brother Big Sisters fundraising event this weekend.

Bowl for Kids Sake is the signature fundraiser for the national organization of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and this weekend the Livingston County affiliate will host its annual event at Striking Lanes in Hartland. Bowl for Kids Sake has been happening in Livingston County since the early 1980’s and for the past few years, Striking Lanes has hosted the event for the charity. “They’re (Striking Lanes are) great,” said Shari Davis-Schoech, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Livingston County. “They bend over backwards to help make our event successful.” Chet Singh, owner of Striking Lanes, says that helping organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters is something he learned from his own parents. “It goes back to my mom and dad …

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