Bigs and Littles: Scooping up success

TRURO, N.S. — The summer has come and gone, once again. Students are back in class, the evenings are getting shorter, and before we know it, the leaves will begin to turn. Fall is certainly in the air. 
This has left the entire Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colchester team reflecting on what an incredible first summer we had at Fundy Scoops Dairy Bar. 
All our summer staff have returned to either high school or post-secondary. We are incredibly proud of our Fundy Scoops team, and what a great job they did this summer. For some of them, this was their first work experience. We saw their confidence grow and their customer service skills and leadership skills develop as every week passed. 
“As with any new business, there will be learning curves, and all our summer students were certainly up for the challenge,” said executive director Nick Sharpe. “It’s always a joy to witness young people overcome obstacles, develop their problem-solving skills and gain confidence in their new skill sets.” 
“We had over 40,000 visitors this summer,” said Sharpe. “It was great to receive incredible support from our community in our first year of business. We’re already looking onward to next summer and all the ways we can improve from what we’ve learned from our first year operating the dairy bar.”
With the dairy bar staff all heading back to school, the hours of operation have changed. You can now get your ice cream fix Monday to Friday between 4 and 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. The dairy bar will remain open until Thanksgiving weekend. (No, sorry we don’t have pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin spice ice cream).
If you’re curious what the favourite flavour was at the dairy bar this season, we asked our Fundy Scoops team, and they said it was likely Mariners Sea Salt Caramel. If you haven’t tried it, we recommend you do. You have until Sunday, Oct 13. to give it a try. 
As the summer vacation and ice cream eating season winds down and the school year has begun, we are hopeful to recruit some more amazing volunteers. Right now, we have many Little Sisters and Brothers, as well as mentees in our In School Mentoring Program waiting for the right mentor. 
“Right now, we have about 60 children on our waitlist,” said Ashlee Bonnell, mentoring co-ordinator with BBBS. “The majority of the children on the waitlist are boys, which is almost always the case.” 
If you’ve been thinking about becoming a Big Brother or in school mentor, fill out our online inquiry form which can be found at www.bbbscolchester.ca. We can answer any questions you might have about the opportunity. 
“I spent six years as a Big Brother before becoming the executive director here at BBBS and it has been such a fulfilling experience,” said Sharpe. “I’m not sure back then what finally made me walk through the door and begin the process, but I’m sure glad I did.”