We’re excited to announce a new partnership (or PAWtnership) between Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest and the Oregon Humane Society (OHS).
It all started when Big Ash and Little Mahayla (who happen to be our Big and Little of the Year for 2024) began volunteering together at OHS. They both love animals and wanted to use their time together to help care for some furry friends.
Inspired by the pair’s volunteerism, Corporate Relations Manager Katie MacDonald reached out to Monica Nash, the Oregon Humane Society’s volunteer engagement manager for youth programs, with hopes of getting more Bigs and Littles involved.
“The second Monica and I talked about the possibility of partnering we were just giggling with excitement. OHS needs volunteers, our matches want activities they can do together. It was the perfect pairing,” Katie said.
Bigs and Littles can join OHS’s Partner Pair program, which gives youth ages 12-17 an opportunity to volunteer with an adult. There are currently three pairs of Bigs and Littles in the first cohort of volunteers. In order to volunteer, they all must complete an orientation and mentor training sessions. In these sessions, they learn about the mission of OHS, how to safely interact with the animals, which tasks are available to volunteers, and anything else they need to know before they can take on a volunteer shift without supervision.
One of the pairs in the first cohort is Big Brother Jason and Little Brother Caeyden, who’ve just completed their first official volunteering shift! Jason and Caeyden have been matched for three years and they both love dogs. During their shift, they washed, dried, and put away blankets and toys before spending some time with the dogs. They did kennel time with a small terrier named Trinket, who loves to be petted and was soaking up all the attention they gave her.
This partnership is mutually beneficial to OHS and BBBS. OHS gets the benefit of new volunteers to help with the more than 250 animals in their care. For BBBS, this opportunity not only provides an outing for Bigs and Littles, but it also helps our Littles learn about animal care, responsibility, and even household skills like doing laundry and washing dishes.
“OHS’ mission is to create a more humane society, and I can think of no better example of that mission in action than what I’ve seen from our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Monica Nash. “Our Partner Pair program not only taps into the power of human connection, but the human/animal connection as well. The love and care volunteers provide to shelter animals is reflected back to them tenfold!”
Being a Big Brother or Big Sister doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment. Doing something as simple as a one-hour volunteering shift at OHS a couple of times a month is all it takes to make a difference in a child’s life.
Right now, there are more than 200 youth in the Portland and Vancouver areas waiting for a Big. Help us erase the wait. Click here to learn more about becoming a Big.
