Carnival opportunity for involvement

Big Brothers Big Sisters benefitted from students' combined efforts

By Esten Hurtle

Published March 18, 2008

Children played dress-up, ran through an obstacle course and played video games, but despite appearances, the afternoon they spent at Columbia College’s Southwell Complex was no average kids’ carnival.

Since early fall, the Missouri Students Association has worked with the student government organizations from Columbia College and Stephens College to organize a carnival benefitting the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri.

“We started talking back and forth, sort of throwing around ideas,” said Brendan Webber, MSA Campus and Community Relations Committee chairman.

“We thought it was great,” said Kerrie Bloss, Big Brothers Big Sisters program director. “We’re always looking for activities for our kids.”

Bloss said the three schools’ student governments completed most of the carnival’s planning and set-up.

“All we had to do was get the word out to our volunteers and kids,” Bloss said.

Webber said the student government organizations cut costs by negotiating deals with companies that provided most necessary equipment for the carnival free of charge.

The organizers also used supplies they already had access to.

“A lot of the smaller things the student organizations already had,” Webber said.

Both regular Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers as well as those volunteering through their schools staffed the event.

Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer Jordan Lilienthal said events like Saturday’s carnival were important for the organization as a whole, as well as for the volunteers and participants.

“It gets people involved and associated with the organization,” she said. “And it’s fun for the kids.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers are expected to mentor children through playing games and tutoring them, Lilienthal said.

Saturday’s carnival provided an environment for the children and their respective Big Brothers and Big Sisters to play, Bloss said.

“This is just a spectacular event,” Bloss said.

Georgalu Swoboda, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri executive director, said that having the help of the student government associations seemed appropriate.

“We have a lot of students that are Big Brothers or Big Sisters, so this is natural that students would do something for students,” Swoboda said. “We’re always looking for groups who want to do an activity for us.”

Webber said the process of putting such a large event together was something he had never experienced before.

“Sitting around, making to-do lists was really difficult, but when it came to working with organizations, that was easy,” Webber said.

Webber said Columbia College readily provided the Southwell Complex for the event, and that finding volunteers to help with the carnival was not a problem.

“I had an organization e-mail me the other day asking if it was too late,” Webber said. “I said ‘Of course not. Come on out.’”