CRYSTAL LAKE – After waiting more than six months, Zack, a 6-year-old from Crystal Lake, got to meet his “big” from Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County for the first time.
Several of Zack’s brothers and sisters are in the mentoring program and he wanted to join. At his home Friday, Zack met Gene Lowery, deputy chief of the Crystal Lake Police Department. Lowery is participating in the program as a private citizen.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County is embarking on a monthlong campaign to recruit 30 Big Brothers.
Robyn Ostrem, executive director, said BBBS organizations nationwide face a constant struggle to recruit male volunteers to participate in the program.
“Women are more inclined to volunteer than men,” Ostrem said, adding only around three out of every 10 volunteer inquiries are from men.
Everyday on television, the radio, Internet and in newspapers like this, we are bombarded by stories of young people who have gone down the wrong path, making poor decisions involving drugs, crime and violence.
You may have thought to yourself, “if there were only some way in which I could help.” Here in McHenry County exists the opportunity to have a direct, positive effect on a child that may otherwise fall into the many traps inherent in growing up.
By Lawerence Synett TribLocal reporter Monday at 2:09 p.m.
Jen Vojcik is a single mother with three young boys who also works full-time as a firefighter with the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.
The McHenry resident does as much as she can with her children — ages 11, 10 and 8 —but while fighting fires and saving lives, her sons are left in the care of their older sister.
As we’ve highlighted many times in the Northwest Herald, McHenry County is loaded with outstanding volunteers who make life considerably better for others for nothing other than the satisfaction of doing so. Specifically, we have a proud tradition of success through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program of McHenry County.
CRYSTAL LAKE – Koren Quarles, a 33-year-old mother from Woodstock, knows that her son needs something she can’t provide. That is why she put her 9-year-old son on a waiting list for a big brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County. “He needs a positive male role model in his life,” Quarles said. Her son is one of 29 boys waiting for mentors. Some of the boys have been on the waiting list for more than a year.
Last year, the local arm of the national nonprofit matched mentors known as “Bigs” to 566 local children, known as “Littles,” who were in need of role models. But the organization doesn’t have enough men to serve as mentors, so leaders have launched a campaign to attract at least 30 big brothers this month.
Called “30 Men in 30 Days,” the campaign aims to recruit more mentors throughout McHenry County.
By BRETT ROWLAND - 
By BRETT ROWLAND - 
Mike Neumann
By Lawerence Synett TribLocal reporter Monday at 2:09 p.m.
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