Danielle Phillips Leads the Charge for Rider Rumba
Of all the student groups available at Rider University, Danielle Phillips chose the perfect fit upon arriving in Lawrenceville three years ago. Emerging Leaders, designed to connect involvement-oriented students with others on campus, seems to capture Phillips’ desire to affect change among her fellow students, but the truth is, the Rider campus can barely contain the junior Public Relations major from Budd Lake, N.J.
Phillips influence has begun to extend into the lives of another group of students, children still years off from college. The desire by Phillips and her associates in the Emerging Leaders program in the fall of 2006 to become actively engaged in worthwhile civic pursuit led to their participation in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County (BBBS). And in the year since Phillips became the project’s lead on-campus recruiter for BBBS, Rider’s involvement has grown from 3 Big Brothers and Big Sisters to 30.
“And we’ve got 10 additional commitments from students still waiting to be matched up with a ‘Little,’” Phillips said, referring to the program’s Little Brothers and Little Sisters, the younger complements to their adult mentors.
BBBS of Mercer County is a Trenton-based chapter of the national organization that has worked to improve the general health, lives and futures of thousands of underserved children for more than 100 years. The mission of BBBS is to make a positive difference in the lives of children by promoting their self-esteem, expanding their awareness of life's opportunities, and providing them with guidance and support through long-term, one-to-one mentoring with caring adult volunteers.
The Rider “Bigs” pledge a one-year commitment to spend an hour per week with their Littles, who typically come from Lawrence Township or Trenton and often grapple with various childhood issues: ADHD or another disorder, struggling with grades, or coming from broken homes, possibly with relatively inattentive parents.
“My Little is very, very shy,” said Phillips of her Little Sister, a 12-year-old girl who recently came to the United States from Poland. “There are a few international children who have a hard time adjusting for one reason or another, such as my Little, who doesn’t get all the attention at home that she might need.”
As in Phillips’ case, most of the Rider Littles are students at Lawrence Intermediate School, which lends itself very convenient to the Bigs’ situation. “Many of the Rider students don’t have cars on campus, but the school is just up the road,” she said. It’s mutually beneficial, Phillips also explained, as “BBBS loves college students – they’re so much closer in age to the Littles than they tend to get, so it’s a little easier for us to relate to them.”
Like almost anything worthwhile, however, the Big Brothers Big Sisters program requires money to fund it – $1,000 for every match they make. For that reason, the Student Government Association at Rider is sponsoring the Rider Rumba 2008 on Thursday, March 27, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center.
“It’s a night of great music, dancing, dance contests, raffles, food and prizes to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters,” Phillips said. “At last year’s Rider Rumba, with the help of the Rider community, we raised just over $5,600 for the cause. This year, our goal is $10,000.”
Phillips cites compelling reasons for supporting Rider Rumba and BBBS. “Our 30 mentors are having a positive impact on the kids by showing them the value of hard work, helping them with homework and instilling other important life lessons in them,” explained Phillips, who is also the public relations chair for SGA when she isn’t working in the office of President Mordechai Rozanski. “Kids who participate in the program are 46 percent less likely to use drugs, 27 percent less likely to start drinking and 53 percent less likely to skip school. To them, life is so different when they know that someone cares and is looking out for them.”
Of course, Rider Rumba isn’t only great for the children who benefit from the kindness of the University family. “Last year, we awarded a cruise for two to the person who raised the most money, and this year, it’s going to be a Florida getaway – four days at Walt Disney World – but only if we surpass that magic $10,000 goal,” Phillips said. “But if 100 people can raise $100 each, we’ll get to $10,000.”
Donating is easy on the secure Rider Rumba Web site at http://riderrumba08.kintera.org. Visitors to the site can use their credit card to sponsor a participant, but friends, family members or those wanting to help Big Brothers Big Sisters can also send a check to Big Brothers Big Sisters or bring a check to the event on March 27. Checks will be applied to the participant of the donor’s choice.
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County, you can visit their Web site at http://www.bbbsmercer.org/.
