Current Big Brothers Big Sisters building. (Terence Guider-Shaw/Herald News Staff Photographer)

Lynn Keane, customer relations specialist with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties, attempts to replace the duct tape that hides the termite damage in the front room of the building. (Terence Guider-Shaw/Staff Photographer)

Lynn Keane (above) walks past the guest bathrooms which are in a hallway that is not up to code with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as is much of the rest of the building in Crest Hill that houses the office for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties. (photos by Terence Guider-Shaw/staff photographer)

A sign taped to the mirror asks occupants to keep the water in the sink running during cold weather. (Terence Guider-Shaw/Herald News Staff Photographer)

'Someone to look up to'

CREST HILL -- Bowling, baseball and bicycling.

Those are the sort of things that Nick Sayers, 9, of Morris, does with his big brother from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

As to why his grades have improved dramatically since he's had a big brother, Nick doesn't really know. Neither does his big brother or his real mother. But they all agree the "Big Brothers" experience seems to help.

"It's someone to look up to," said Nick, who doesn't have a father at home. "I've never had that experience. I have two sisters. They're both older than me. They're starting their own families."

Nick is one of 500 youngsters served by Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties throughout the year. The program provides men and women to serve as mentors and role models for young people, most of whom are in single-parent families. And, the local Big Brothers Big Sisters has been growing along with the counties it serves.

The not-for-profit group last week launched a campaign to raise $1 million to move out of the cramped headquarters, where it operates now, and into a new building.

For about 15 years, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties has operated out of a converted house on Plainfield Road in Crest Hill. As the agency has grown, the space has become more crowded, said Chief Executive Officer Lisa Morel Las.

"Right now, we're on top of each other, and there's no room to add people," Las said.

Not only that, but Las recently had the building treated for termites. The property has been sold, and the building will be torn down as Big Brothers Big Sisters raises money for a new home.

The agency has its eyes on a Joliet site but has not closed on the property, Las said, since buying the building depends on how much money can be raised.

But Big Brothers Big Sisters is looking for a building big enough to house its staff as well as hold events that could attract more big brothers and sisters to the program, said Las.

Occasionally, the organization holds events to give prospective mentors a sense of what the program is like. A recent event brought in about 35 employees from Chicago Bridge and Iron to meet 35 youngsters to the Crest Hill location. Because of the size of the facility, everyone was spread out into different rooms.

Las said such one-day events are an important way to attract people who may be interested in Big Brothers Big Sisters but don't know enough about the program to make a commitment.

"We have many more kids than we have mentors," Las said.

It really doesn't take much to be a mentor in the program, said Jay Johnson, who is Nick's big brother.

Johnson, who lives in Minooka and is a coach at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, said he basically spends time with Nick doing things that they both like to do, such as bicycling and bowling.

"That's the good thing about the program," Johnson said. "They match you with someone who has the same interests."

Johnson brings his own son and two daughters along with some outings with Nick. Later this month, they may go to a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game.

"I don't feel like I do a lot," Johnson said.

But Nick's mother, Dana Agnich, vouches for the difference that Johnson has made in her son's life.

He's more focused at school, she said.

"This program has done a lot of good for my son," Agnich said at an event last week to launch the capital campaign. "He got his grades up. He went from Ds and Fs to As and one C."

As to why the program has made a difference, Agnich isn't sure. But Nick seems more confident.

"He just feels better about himself," she said.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow talked about the importance of role models at the Big Brothers Big Sisters event last week.

"Young kids today are bombarded with things that give them knowledge that they really can't comprehend," he said. "It's so critical that children have role models."

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