What do you and your Little do together? We want to know! Send in some pictures and a description of where it was taken, and we'll include them in upcoming issues of Matchline. Who knows - you might give another match a new idea of what to do!

If you have some pictures of you and your Little to share, drop Rob Walter an email at rob.walter@bbbs.org.




(Above) BIG chess, anyone? Here's Little Brother Carson and Big Brother Scott taking part in our "End of School Summer Blast Party" at the Woodlands Resort. 



(Above) From big chess, to a BIG Connect Four game, matches had a blast at the Woodlands Resort.



(Above) Little Sister Emma and Big Sister Joanna take a break to pose for the camera at the Woodlands Resort.



(Above) Big Sister Marline and Little Brother Jeremy at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo back in March.

All Bigs who join our Bowl for Kids' Sake event on July 12th and raise at least $110 will be able to bring along their Littles to bowl for free!

This is a great way to get your friends involved in supporting BBBS, not to mention a great match activity.

Bowl for Kids' Sake is one of the agency's biggest fundraisers. As a Big, you can get involved in one of two ways:

1) Start a team. Get four of your friends, form a team, then each member of the team raises at least $110. Head to bfks2008.kintera.org/houston to register your team. Have your friends go there as well and sign up under your team name. Your team will have its own fundraising page where anyone can visit to securely donate online.

2) Join as an individual. You can also sign up to bowl as an individual. Email our BFKS guru Rosalind Moore at rosalind.moore@bbbs.org and she'll set you up. Raise $110, then bring your Little out on July 12th to bowl with you!

If you've never been to a BFKS bowl, you're missing out! There are raffle drawings, giveaways, food, and most importantly, FUN!

You don't have to be a Big to participate. If you have some friends who were thinking about being a Big but don't have the time to mentor, this is a great way to get involved, without spending a lot of time. We also invite companies to get involved by helping us spread the word among employees.

Head to www.gobighouston.org/bfks for all the information you could ever want about Bowl for Kids' Sake, and we'll see you on July 12th!

We were honored to help "Ridemakerz" open its first and for now, only Houston-area store on Saturday, June 28th at Baybrook Mall in Friendswood.

"Ridemakerz" allows kids and adults alike to customize their own model car or truck, tricking it out with various accessories, including a remote control module.



Eleven matches came out to make a ride of their own to show off at the grand opening, which also featured an appearance by Chip Foose, the host of TLC's "Overhaulin'" TV show.


Above: BBBS Advisory Board member Gary Renola, Big Sister Olga Rodriguez, Little Sister Destiny, and Little Brother Jacob pose with Chip Foose of "Overhaulin'".

"Ridemakerz" and BBBS share the same values - collaboration and creativity produce confidence! This is certainly true of what our matches do together - through collaboration and creativity, our Littles learn to have self-confidence that will help them reach their full potential in life.

During the grand opening, we found two surprise connections to BBBS: the "ZEO" of "Ridemakerz," Larry Andreini, was a Big Brother in college. He had a great time in the program, and by partnering with us, he's supporting one-to-one mentoring again.


Right: Ridemakerz ZEO Larry Andreini, BBBS Individual giving Director Tiffany Dorsey, and Carson Lev, former Little Brother.

Also, we met Carson Lev, the vice-president and chief operating officer for Chip Foose Design. Carson is a former Little Brother from Southern California! He told us that the BBBS program helped him become a better person. He also later became a Big Brother as his way of giving back to the program that gave him so much.

Thanks to "Ridemakerz" for this great opportunity, and for donating $1,000 to BBBS! In addition, the store is donating an additional dollar for every car created over its opening weekend.

Some Littles and Bigs got an up-close meeting with Houston Astro Lance Berkman on June 7th as part of project with San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown.

Eighteen Littles, both matched and unmatched, were selected as that week's Berkman's Bunch, a group of children from the community invited to come into the Astros locker room.

Each child received a jersey, a goodie bag, an Astro's binder, and a Lance Berkman bobble head! Of course, the big draw was Berkman himself, who poseed for pictures and signed autographs.

Afterward, all the kids were able to attend the game. Unfortunately, the Astros lost to the Cardinals, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the Littles!




Lance Berkman, Little Sister Norrshaland Norris and her Big Sister and BBBS Baytown Branch Manager Kime Smith.


Big Sister Alex and her Little Sister LeaRasha during the game.