Meet Big Sister Eula and Little Sister Jayla! They are Big Brothers Big Sisters' longest active match. The two have been a match a little over 10 YEARS! Wow, how cool is that; 10 years of outings, memories made, and a relationship that will last a lifetime.
Big Sister Eula is a healthcare worker at the state hospital and a current board member at Big Brothers Big Sisters! Eula enrolled in the program because she wanted to be a mentor to a younger female and provide guidance and advice to someone; like she had growing up. Eula had countless mentors in her life from family, friends, and people in her church congregation.
In December of 2011, Eula finally got to meet her Little Sister Jayla, who at the time was a kindergartener and extremely shy. Eula and Jayla enjoyed bowling, the library, going on bike rides, and playing games at first. As time progressed in their relationship so did some of their activities. You could easily catch Jayla and Eula doing arts and crafts, visiting the zoo, taking advantage of monthly activities BBBS hosted, grabbing a hot chocolate, and cruising around viewing Christmas Lights. Eula has also taken time to make connections with other matches around her Little’s age, gone to SkyZone and taken walks at a local park!
Over the years Eula has witnessed many changes with her Little Sister Jayla including transitioning from elementary to middle and most recently high school. With each milestone, Eula has been there to cheer on and advocate for her Little Sister. As Jayla has gotten older, her interests have changed. Eula and Jayla made new goals and updated their activities list. The two have worked on homework, visited the library for class projects, taken a self-defense class, and experienced new things together in the community. Adapting and changing within the relationship is important for success and that is exactly what Eula did. In 2013 Jayla nominated Eula for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Big of the Year and she won.
Little Sister Jayla enjoys her time with Eula. When she first was interviewed Jayla stated that she “wanted a friend and someone she could go out with and have fun!” After 10 years, there are countless times the two have had fun and many memories have been made. When asked what she enjoys most about her relationship with Eula, Jayla stated “Eula is there for me to talk to, we enjoying coming to activities at BBBS, and hanging out with other Bigs and Littles.” Jayla’s mother Chelsie states that “Eula is part of the family after all these years … she continues to be a positive role model for Jayla and her daughter enjoys spending time with Eula.” The relationship between Eula and Jayla has evolved after all these years from a Big / Little mentorship to a sisterhood that will continue in years to come.
When asked in her interview nearly 10 years ago after being matched, what would have had to occur for you to consider the experience to be fun and worthwhile? Big Sister Eula stated, “doing fun things together and making a difference in a child’s life.” I think it is safe to say that Eula has done just that for 10 years and continues to do so now.
If you’re interested in becoming a Big Sister like Eula visit mentoringkids.org/volunteer or call us at 812-425-6076!
