BNI Miami-Dade Chapter Organizes Successful Back-to-School Backpack Drive

Aug. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- MIAMI – BNI Biscayne Connection, a chapter of BNI Miami-Dade, recently donated dozens of backpacks and numerous school supplies to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County for the organization’s back-to-school campaign.

BNI member Traci Miller, Director of Business Development at Miller Construction Company, who has been involved in the organization as a Big Sister and board member for many years, organized the drive. She said Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to assist more than 400 children in the program.

“I was overwhelmed, but certainly not surprised, by the response from my chapter members,” said Miller. “When I unloaded the boxes and boxes of donated supplies at the BBBS offices, they were astonished at the response I got with just a 1-week request. This chapter alone provided 10 percent of what we need for the whole county of kids we serve!”

As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.  Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children (“Littles”) with screened volunteer mentors (“Bigs”) and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. For more information visit www.BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

“I’m involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters because mentoring has been proven to make a difference to children in our community that just crave a little guidance,” said Miller. “National and local studies show that children who have role models (“Bigs”) are more likely to improve in school and in their relationships with family and friends, and less likely to skip school or use illegal drugs or alcohol.  Self-esteem is a huge issue with some of these children, most of whom come from very low-income, single parent households. Starting the school year off fresh with a new backpack and the required supplies is one less thing they need to worry about.”

BNI Biscayne Connection meets Wednesdays at The Bankers Club in downtown Miami at 7:00 a.m.

ABOUT BNI:
BNI is the largest business networking organization in the world with more than 140,000 members in 47 countries all doing business under the philosophy of "Givers Gain®": By giving business to others, you will get business in return. With more than 1000 members, BNI Miami-Dade hosts weekly meetings for its 30 chapters in Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Kendall, Coconut Grove, Aventura, North Miami, Doral, Dadeland, Pinecrest, South Miami and Homestead. Last year, BNI Miami-Dade passed 53,000 qualified referrals generating $40 million in member-to-member business. For more information about BNI Miami-Dade, please visit www.bnimiami.com.

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