Each year Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Indiana honors our “Matches of the Year”. We had 10 matches of the year in 2021, and each of these matches was interviewed for a series of short videos.
We weren’t able to fit everything into the Match of the Year videos, so here’s a deeper look into one of 2021’s strongest matches!
Big Sister Patty and Little Sister Ellise have been matched since February of 2018, and supported all along the way by Ellise’s mom, Courtney.
Patty became Ellise’s Big because she wanted to give back to the community and thought that mentoring a young person would be the best way to do it. She wanted to make a change.
The two of them have had a ton of whacky adventures over the years, more than they can even keep track of! When Patty was asked if she had a favorite memory or experience with Ellise, the two of them immediately locked eyes and started laughing.
Ellise managed to say, “There’ve been so many!” between bursts of laughter.
When asked how she would describe Ellise, Patty said “Ellise is creative, expressive, confident, smart, and beautiful. She has a lot of light in her soul.”.
Ellise wanted a Big because she needed a friend. She shared that before being matched her family was in a hard place, and she spent a lot of time by herself. She felt like she didn’t have anyone to talk to. Things have been completely different since meeting Patty!
When asked how she would describe Patty, Ellise said she is “a comedian. She always has the best things to say. In an awkward situation, she can say the perfect thing and completely lighten a room.”
Courtney shared that since meeting Patty, Ellise has developed a love of learning. She says that Patty has not only helped her understand that education is important, but she’s also helped her understand why education is important.
When asked how she would describe Ellise, Courtney said “Ellise is passionate, caring, hopeful, understanding, open-minded, funny, and confident”.
Courtney also shared that BBBSCI has had a huge impact on her family. She said that “Ellise is a huge part of our family. It’s just the three of us. Having her being positive, happy, and encouraging to my youngest and to myself has been huge.”