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Want a role model? Take a number

The county's Bigs in School program has 42 "littles" who are waiting to be matched with mentors. The wait for a role model is especially long for the boys.

By MARY SPICUZZA
Published June 26, 2006

	[Times photo: Dan McDuffie]
	Pamela Wigfall, the legal guardian for 10-year-old twins Michael, left, and Matthew Standifer, signed the boys up for Big Brothers about three years ago. Michael, tired of waiting, was finally paired with a Big Sister this spring. Matthew, at the time, said he wanted to wait for a Big Brother.

DADE CITY - Twins Michael and Matthew Standifer signed up for Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors when they were in second grade.

Then they waited.

The boys are now 10 years old.

"They've been waiting for about three years," said their guardian, Pamela Wigfall.

After no Big Brother could be found for Michael, he was recently paired with a Big Sister. Matthew is still looking.

Matthew is one of 42 "littles" in the Bigs in School program in Pasco County who are ready to be matched, but still in need of a mentor.

The program, run by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, matches mentors with elementary school students who need extra attention. The students are referred by their teachers, and their parents sign a permission slip allowing them to participate.

When a counselor at Rodney B. Cox Elementary School suggested Michael and Matthew join the program, Wigfall signed them up immediately.

"They needed some stability," she said.

The twins' mother struggled with drug problems and died in prison after having a heart attack in her early 20s.

The twins were being raised by their grandmother, but she died when they were 2 years old. Custody then went to their grandfather, but he died when they were 6.

Michael and Matthew went to live with Wigfall, who had two sons with their grandfather. They call her "Auntie Pam."

"I just try to give them a stable environment," she said. "They were so accustomed to change and change and change."

Her grown sons, Anton and Maurice Standifer, are like father figures to them. But Wigfall hopes Big Brothers Big Sisters can provide the twins with additional role models, and inspire them to continue their education.

However, the wait for a Big Brother can be a long one.

"It's more of a challenge to get the men involved," said Jill Quinn, mentor manager for the school and site-based program. "I guess my personal opinion is that it's the commitment factor. The women seem to not get scared off."

Most of those waiting are little brothers.

Quinn and others at Big Brothers Big Sisters are working to reduce the wait time for all the "littles" in Pasco County. They are trying to recruit mentors during summer break so they can complete the volunteer enrollment process before the school year begins.

The twins are very close - so close that, when they were 3 years old, Michael swallowed a penny but Matthew was the one who started choking.

Still, after Michael was matched with a Big Sister this spring, Matthew said he wanted to wait for a Big Brother.

Then he saw how much fun Michael and his mentor, Cherish Church, were having.

"She's nice, caring and I have fun with her," Michael said. "We play computers, and we play basketball."

Church, a Saint Leo University student, is away for the summer but will return for the next school year. Matthew hopes that, by then, he'll have a Big Sister of his own.

"So she can help me with my work," Matthew said. "And play with me."

For more information about the Bigs in School program, call 727 372-1458.

Mary Spicuzza covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at (727) 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is mspicuzza@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 00:25:10]