Big Love: Drink Some Suds, Find a Bud

On October 2, Revival Brewery will host a Big Brothers Big Sisters event for prospective big brothers called Buds and Suds. “We have 92 boys waiting for a mentor,” said Taylor Millspaugh, development and community relations associate. Everyone who attends the 21+ event will get a tour of the brewery, receive free food and a tasting, drink discounted full pours, and talk with existing mentors about the program. “Our hope is that by having tours and tastings during the event, we’ll take the awkwardness out of talking with strangers about mentorship, and people will come away having learned something,” Millspaugh said.

Someone interested in becoming a mentor will go through an in-depth interview process — including answering questions about everything from interests to family background — so that they can be properly matched with a little brother. Each big and each little is given three match options, and they get to choose who they want to spend time with. “We ask mentors to commit to their professionally supported relationship for 6 to 8 hours a month for 18 months, and we provide free resources, training and activities, including tickets to PPAC and Patriots and Bruins games,” said George Evans Marley, director of development and community relations.

As for the littles, Evans Marley says that as a result of their mentor relationship, they learn better decision-making skills, and they feel more connected to peers, teachers and authority figures. They often see improvement in grades and they become more community-minded.