Making a Perfect Match
Growing up, Leticia Mickey never had siblings around her, but Nancy Birckbichler had three much older sisters.
Sounds like a match made in heaven.
Mickey, 29, and Nancy, 12, are one of 40 active matches by Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Butler County. The duo were matched up in October 2006 and have been doing things together ever since.
“My parents always stressed community and being kind,” said Mickey, a Cranberry Township resident. “I never had a little sister.”
That’s where Nancy comes in.
Mickey, a ninth- and 12th-grade English teacher at Pine-Richland High School, had to apply and submit letters of recommendation as well as undergo an interview process.
She then went on a waiting list and less than two months after she began the process, she was paired up with Nancy, who hoped to get matched up with a teacher.
“Compatibility is so important,” said Corrine Coulson, program director of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Butler County. “They talk with each other all the time. She feels very strong about the program. She’s a great Big Sister.”
Mickey concurs about the reliability of the program.
“I did trust the program and the match screening was perfect,” said Mickey. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”
Nancy, a student at Butler Junior High School, was nudged toward the program by her mother.
“Tish is someone I can look up to,” Nancy said. “I’m happy I did it, but I didn’t think I would like it.”
“I love the drive to see Nancy,” Mickey said. “It’s always an adventure. Every summer, we make a top 10 list of what we can do. We’ve gone to North Park, the movies. We went to the Jonas Brothers concert last fall.
“I never went canoeing before and that’s what’s great. I’m doing something I wouldn’t normally do or see a movie I wouldn’t normally see (such as the animated ‘Flushed Away’),” Mickey added.
Along with getting together about every other Sunday, Mickey and Nancy also take part in the program’s scheduled monthly activities.
“I do a lot of fun activities and I get to see Tish,” Nancy said. “I’m always excited to see her.”
Mickey said, “The YMCA does a great job with the monthly activities.”The pair also enjoy swimming in the summer and even attended a golf outing at Olde Stonewall Golf Club in Ellwood City. Mickey spoke at Shakespeare’s Restaurant & Pub to discuss volunteering.Mickey also spreads the word of volunteering and making a difference with a wall board she has on display at Pine-Richland, which she updates with pictures every couple of months.“High school is a great venue to discuss this,” Mickey said of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program.Even Nancy is helping to spread the word.“I tell my friends to get a big sister or even a big couple.”Big Brothers and Big Sisters came to the county in 1993 through the Butler County Family YMCA and two years later became a fully accredited service agency through Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.“We were only one of 10 or 11 run by a county Big Brothers Big Sisters sponsored by the YMCA,” said Coulson.“It’s a mentoring program and our goal is to make a positive difference with children,” Coulson added.Big Brothers and Big Sisters, at 339 N. Washington St., still has about 34 applicants on its waiting list, something Coulson would like to see turn into matches.“We really don’t want a waiting list,” said Coulson. “We want to match all the kids. We’re able to match females more. We don’t have as many males.”The program has still been successful, with examples such as Mickey and Nancy.“I feel now that she is my sister,” Mickey said. “When I talk to my co-workers, they’re asking about my little sister. My friends are even thinking about it. I tell them it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.“We’ve been together two years and I don’t see why we can’t keeping going for years“I talked to my mom and told her I imagine seeing Nancy off to college and getting married.”
<B>Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Butler County</B><B>ADDRESS</B>: At the YMCA, 339 N. Washington St., Butler<B>PROGRAM DIRECTOR: </B>Corrine Coulson<B>SERVICE</B>: 40 active matches; 34 boys and girls on a waiting list<B>PHONE</B>: 724-287-4733<B>WEB SITE</B>: www.bcfymca.org/BigBrothersBigSisters.asp
