	In this Issue
	Agency Events

	Did You Know
	Share Your Heritage

Dear Big,

April is a great time to head outdoors with your Little. Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine by taking part in one of the many events we have this month. Also be sure to check in with your Match Support Specialist.

AGENCY EVENTS

Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Night
Join us for Opening Night as the Arizona Diamondback's take on the Cincinnati Reds Monday, April 9. Game starts at 6:40 PM. A few upper level tickets are still available. To reserve your tickets, please email tickets@bbbsaz.org.

Thank you to Derek Hall, president of the Arizona Diamondback's and the entire Diamondback's organization for their generous ticket donation.

Match Appreciation Picnic

Come help us celebrate you, our matches, at our annual Match Appreciation Picnic. Join your Match Support Specialist and hundreds of other matches for lunch, games, prizes, arts and crafts, and entertainment.

Everyone who brings a bag of clothing for the Donation Center will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a fabulous prize!

Feel free to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets, sunscreen and whatever else you might want.

Where: Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Ruben Romero Ramada
(click here for map)
When: Sunday, April 22 Noon-3 PM
Cost: Free! (includes lunch)
RSVP: To your Match Support Specialist by April 16

Kiwanis Park is between Baseline and Guadalupe, west of Rural. The Ruben Romero Ramada is located off of All American Way near Kiwanis Lake. The easiest access is from Mill Ave. at the north end of the park.

Peter Piper Pizza Bowl for Kids’ Sake

Hosting a company bowl during Peter Piper Pizza’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake allows your company to give back to employees and to Big Brothers Big Sisters. There’s no financial commitment and all that’s needed is allowing your company to participate in the event and designating one corporate champion to spearhead the event.

The corporate champion is responsible for keeping in touch with BBBSAZ and promoting BFKS to fellow employees. Once the teams are in place, the employees can begin collecting pledges to benefit BBBSAZ. We encourage companies to treat the event as a company picnic and team building event.

Each team has five bowlers and BBBSAZ can award trophies to the:

* Top fundraising team

* Best bowling team

* Best team spirit

* Best costume

By creating these categories your employees should build internal competition, which will also build up your employees as a team, and increase employee moral.

In the end everyone walks away having a great time playing together and providing much needed financial support for BBBSAZ with no cost to the company.

For more information, or to schedule a company bowl, contact Scott Weesner at sweesner@bbbsaz.org or call (602) 393-4133.

Event Tickets

Are you interested in receiving emails regarding community event tickets that are donated to our Agency? If so, please email tickets@bbbsaz.org.

Please include your name and preferred email address. You will placed on the distribution list and will be notified via email when tickets arrive.

DID YOU KNOW...

... USA Today is turning 25 and to celebrate, will be highlighting various non-profits around the nation. Big Brothers Big Sisters is the first non-profit to be featured in the series. Visit and post your comments and match stories by visiting them online.

... Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona earns a penny every time you search the Internet?

With GoodSearch.com, a new Yahoo-powered search engine with a unique social mission, every time you use it, money is generated for BBBSAZ.

Good Search donated half of its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities selected by its users. The pennies quickly add up. For example, if 1,000 BBBSAZ supporters searched just twice a day, we would receive an estimated $7,300 per year!

You use it just as you would any other search engine and since it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven high-quality results.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter BBBSAZ as the charity you want to support.

The more people who use the site, the more money we will earn, so please spread the word!

SHARE YOUR HERITAGE, STORIES AND SELF

Whether your family came to America many generations ago, or just last year, you probably have many stories to tell. What games did you play as a child? What songs did you sing? Do you remember the stories your grandparents told you? Did they speak a language other than English?

Share your memories and your heritage with a child. Young people like hearing stories ... especially when those stories share cultural traditions that cross boundaries of language and culture.

Want to build a cultural bridge with a Little Brother, Little Sister or another child in your life? Here are some ideas for building friendship by celebrating diversity.

• Learn a language: Practice counting to ten, saying "hello" or other phrases in a language your ancestors spoke. Share with a child and see who can remember more. Don't worry - young people often have better memories than grownups!

• Taste tour: Make a new dish or explore a variety of food that introduces you to a new culture. Visit a market or inexpensive restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of another country.

• Interview an elder: Find a grandparent, older person in a senior center, or someone who has recently moved to the U.S. Craft interview questions and write a news story or create your own documentary. You might discover a budding director!