College Book Store will be teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County to positively influence local youth during Sibs Weekend.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national organization that pairs underprivileged children with an adult mentor and serves as the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network.
The mission statement of the Athens chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, founded in 1986, is “To make a positive difference in the lives of area youth through professionally supported relationships with mentors and volunteers.”
As a result of last year’s widespread success, the College Book Store, 50 S. Court St., plans to donate 20 percent of its Sibs Weekend T-shirt sales to Big Brothers Big Sister of Athens County.
“I think (working with College Bookstore) is a great opportunity for us to let people in the community know that we are here, and to hopefully recruit more volunteers for the community program,” said Tara Gilts, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County.
Inspired by the new Ohio football and basketball uniforms, this year’s T-shirts are black, white and green.
“We’re proud to once again be supporting a great local organization with this being our third annual Sibs Weekend campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Gilts.
The College Book Store has been in business since 1952 and is the only locally owned textbook store serving Ohio University in Athens.
“We dedicate one event weekend each quarter to a different local cause,” said Andrew Stout, an apparel buyer at the College Book Store.
Other organizations benefitting from the store’s philanthropic events include the Goodworks homeless shelter during Homecoming Weekend and My Sister’s Place of Athens during OU Moms Weekend.
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County, visit their website at www.BBBSAthens.org.
az346610@ohiou.eduaz346610@ohiou.edu
