Sister relationship is 'sweetest reward'

December 26, 2007

Growing up in a house full of brothers, Sarah Welz of Plainfield needed a big sister role model and found one in Hallie Brenczewski through Big Brother Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.

Answered prayers might be the best way to sum up the eight-year Big-Little Sister relationship of Hallie Brenczewski and Sarah Welz of Plainfield.

For Sarah, whose mother is dead and whose father is absent, Hallie is the female relative she never had.

"I found out about Big Sisters at grade school," said the 17-year-old Plainfield Central junior. "My brother was being mean to me at the time and I felt like I really needed a sister, someone you can really connect to as opposed to a brother."

Right about that time, Hallie was getting ready to pay some dues. "More than nine years ago I made a promise to God that if he blessed me and my husband with a healthy baby, I would make a difference in the life of a child."

Hallie has also learned that payback brings its own rewards. "I could never imagine not having Sarah in my life," said the busy mother of two boys, ages 4 and 8. "Being a Big Sister brings the sweetest reward of all, the love of a child."

Sarah is the female "seasoning" in her all-boy household. "Sarah and I have gone to get a pedicure as the guys sure wouldn't want to," said Hallie.

Hallie knew right away they were a good match. "We are very different, but at heart we do have a lot in common," she said.

A good match is the heart and core of the BBBS program, because common interests ensure an enduring relationship like this one, which has already outlasted the official "graduation" age of 13 for a Little.

Hallie has found their time together doesn't have to be elaborately planned. The two have fun cooking, gardening, shopping or lunching. "Girl talk" about males, music, makeup or mean girls are a chance for Hallie to advise Sarah on today's female world, and Hallie loves this part of their fun the most.

"All of my friends are guys," confides Sarah. "I like computers and video games. I'm kinda off in my own little corner."

Sarah was painfully shy when she met Hallie, and seemingly different from the other girls at school. Worse, small-minded classmates gave her a hard time, even in after-school activities.

Hallie gave Sarah coping skills and hope that in the bigger world of high school, she'd come into her own.

And she has, growing into a beautiful young woman who has found her niche as a budding artist.

"I'm able to put my emotion, the different things that happen to me, into art," said Sarah.

"It's been neat to watch the shyness disappear and watch her confidence grow," said Hallie, who has been known to spin Sarah around the mall floor on more than one shopping expedition and loves to see how Sarah interacts at large family gatherings now. But Hallie isn't playing mom. "My grammy has been more like a mom to me than I'll ever know," Sarah said.

What is Hallie's role then? "She understands me more, stuff I can't say to my grammy," Sarah says.

In other words, she is that big sister Sarah yearned for.

Hallie proudly posts Sarah's art on her office walls at Professional Development Alliance. She is also proud of Sarah's volunteer work with a junior chapter of King's Daughters.

"I love doing community service," Sarah replies. "I'm a giver."

Hallie is touched by the way Sarah is grateful for the smallest kind gesture. So it was big fun to take Sarah on her first plane ride this past summer to Disney World.

"Derek and I loved watching her taking pictures out the windows," Hallie said.

"I love playing with the boys," Sarah said.

It was truly a family vacation.

Hallie and Sarah see their relationship lasting all of their lives, and today they don't need a boost from Big Brothers Big Sisters to keep their friendship on track. But they know if it wasn't for this agency, their lives would be a little bit smaller and contain a lot less magic.

"Hallie is proof positive that a positive adult role model can have a tremendous impact on the life of a child," said BBBS Executive Director Lisa Las. "A national study done about 10 years ago shows BBBS has a long-lasting, positive effect on a child's confidence, grades and social skills and you can see that so strongly here.

"But while Sarah would not be the same confident teen today without Hallie - look at all Hallie has received in return!"

Answered prayers, indeed.