Southwest Virginia’s mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters has teamed up with the Roanoke City Police Department to create a powerful message on wheels.
“The need in Southwest Virginia for young people to have a role model is more urgent than ever,” said Josh Thoemke, CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia. “One of our hallmark programs is our Bigs in Blue program and we are so excited to have our new logo printed on a police cruiser to celebrate our Big Brothers and Big Sisters in blue here in Roanoke City.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virgina’s Bigs in Blue program is built on the belief that trust and understanding in a community are developed one relationship at a time. A police officer who volunteers to be a part of Bigs in Blue is matched with a child facing adversity in the community. Many children see police officers solely as authority figures, not as regular people. Bigs in Blue not only enables youth to bond with caring, supportive officers, but also enables officers to get to know the community they serve.
Bigs in Blue started in Roanoke back in 1999. Since then the program has become a national initiative for the more than 270 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country. These Bigs in Blue are heroes in and out of uniform and continue to make tremendous impacts on the Littles that they are matched with and in turn, the community as a whole.