Summer Fest event offers glimpse into the mission, success of Big Brothers Big Sisters

Crystal Billings never expected to learn life lessons from an 11-year-old when she began volunteering as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“I hope that I can just be a positive influence in my Little’s life,” Billings said. “I can say that she has actually done a lot more for me than she probably even realizes.”

After going through a rough patch, the 30-year-old said that her Little’s constant happiness and energy helped her find more joy in the little things in life.

“That’s one thing that I didn’t expect when I got involved — to have a kid help me as much as she has,” Billings said.

Billings has been a Big Sister with the nonprofit since 2021. She has been with her Little, a title given to a child enrolled in the mentorship program, for about a year and a half.

Big brothers and sisters from across Fayette and Westmoreland counties gathered at Twin Lakes Park to host the second annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Summer Fest. Guests participated in activities such as sand art, face painting, dunk tanks and a reptile meet and greet. Students from the Hempfield Area High School United Spartans volunteer group walked around in mascot costumes and met children.

Dogs were welcome at the event. A stand provided water bowls, puppy ice cream and special treats for the furry guests.

“It was really important for us to have an event that we could have the public attend and be able to entertain our Littles as well,” said Gabrielle Stewart, 39, development and events coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region.

Children had free reign of the grass as they played carnival games and participated in a princess and Pokemon party. Many of the activities were free to attendees.

Jessie Rahl was a guest that enjoyed some of the attractions at the celebration. With her face painted as a cat and arms sporting temporary tattoos, she made her way to the bounce house with her parents, Ryan and Melissa Rahl, following closely behind.

The 4-year-old proudly showed off her junior deputy sticker that she earned after turning on the police lights in a Westmoreland Sheriff cruiser.

Westmoreland County Deputy Sheriff and Big Brother, Robert Rider, 24, hosted a station where children could sit in a police car and try on gear. He also handed out candy and coloring pages.

“I see a lot of kids when I’m on the job,” Rider said. “It’s nice to get the experience from Big Brothers and apply those skills to the kids we see in the field. We don’t want them to be afraid. We want them to know that we’re here to help and that we’re happy to help them.”

Rider signed up to volunteer with the program when he was 18 and has been with the same Little since.

“I was hoping to just be a mentor,” Rider said. “It’s nice to just be there for him.”

Stewart said that there are more than 100 children in Fayette and Westmoreland counties on the enrollment waitlist for the Big Brothers program. She said that hosting events like Summer Fest give community members a chance to see what the program does for local children and hopefully will attract more volunteer mentors.

Once a person volunteers to become a Big, Billings said, they are required to file for clearances and then go through the process of matching with a child.

“We match mentors with a child that has similar interests as them,” Stewart said. “If someone is into fishing and the child is into video games, they might not click. Our case workers really make sure that they learn about everybody so that they can make good matches.”

Children ages 6 to 14 are able to enroll as a Little. Once enrolled children surpass 14, they move into a program called Big Futures, a career readiness program where Bigs work with their Littles to prepare them for adulthood.

“We just want to make sure that these kids have a mentor to help them,” Stewart said. “The kids end up doing better in school, they gain self confidence — you can really just see them evolve into these new people in front of your eyes.”