Big Brothers Big Sisters gets a big boost

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas strives to help children in need to make good choices and avoid risky converse womens uk behaviors so they can become productive adults.

, the nonprofit organization's vice president of external relations, became a Big Sister to young Julissa five years ago after a life changing experience.

"About six years ago, I went through a major health scare and I also lost my grandmother, so with a second chance at life, I needed to do something productive that would impact someone other than myself," Martinez said. "I knew [url=http://www.conversetrainerssaleuk.top/converse-womens-c-6/converse-womens-h... converse womens high uk that taking on this effort would be something that I had to commit to forever."

She meets with Julissa two to three times a month. They go shopping and attend events like plays and musicals. Martinez also shows Julissa different perspectives when it comes to going to college, finding a job and being a mother and a wife.

"Julissa's life is very different than mine and I just want to show her that she can ultimately choose her path, and that nothing is unattainable if you work hard for it," Martinez said.

The work that mentors like Martinez do recently got a boost.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas last month received a $100,000 matching grant from the Richmond Foundation to be used toward construction of a new headquarters.

The was held throughout the month of April, with the organization raising more than $100,000.

, founder of Pizza Hut in San Antonio, selected Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas for the Matching Grant Challenge after attending one of its board meetings last year. Richmond selects an organization each year for the challenge.

"I started working for in 1999, and there [url=http://www.conversetrainerssaleuk.top/converse-womens-c-6/converse-womens-h... converse womens high uk were only 12 people working here; now there are 42," said , president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas. "We have simply grown out of the (headquarters) building."

The new headquarters will be built on the same site as its current location at 202 Baltimore Ave. It will expand from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet to accommodate more than 2,000 volunteer mentors and staff members. Construction is scheduled to start early next year.