'Tradition' wristbands benefit kids

This summer, yellow plastic bracelets swept the country as not only a new fad, but a symbol of support for cancer patients across the world. \nThis semester, T.I.S. College Bookstore and the people of South-Central Indiana Big Brothers Big Sisters hope that red plastic bracelets with the inscription "TRADITION" will become the new fashion for the IU-Bloomington community.\nT.I.S. did a similar campaign to the "Livestrong" bracelets to help raise funds for the University of Illinois libraries. Liz Grenat, the executive director of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters said T.I.S. came to her organization in early December and asked if they could put together a fund-raiser.\n"T.I.S. has been a wonderful corporate partner for Big Brothers Big Sisters," Grenat said.\nThe red wristbands are a new way to support local children and sport Hoosier pride. One dollar from every sold wristband will go toward Big Brothers Big Sisters of South-Central Indiana. \nBeth Theile, who works in marketing at the T.I.S. Corporation, said that almost 3,000 bracelets have been sold. Ten thousand bracelets have been manufactured, and the organization hopes to sell all of them. If all are sold, $10,000 will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters. \n"The money will go into general funding, to support screening and other preparation for volunteers," Grenat saod. "The money will be utilized throughout all our programs."\nThe wristbands can be purchased at T.I.S. College Bookstore on East Third Street, at The Indiana Shop in College Mall, and at www.tisbookiu.com. \nT.I.S. hopes to sell all of the wristbands by the time the "Bowl For Kids Sake" benefit takes place in late February and early March, Theile said. The monetary award will all be presented at once. \n"I think it's a great idea," said Andrea Smith, who volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters. "It's really cool that we can have our own, really neat fundraiser using this popular trend."\nGraduate student Smith became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Bloomington in the fall of 2003. She has been mentoring a 12-year-old girl for about 15 months. \n"In the past 15 months she went from failing school to now she has A's, B's and C's," Smith said. "She's doing great, she has increased confidence, and has set goals for herself."\nShe also emphasized how much the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization helps the community as a whole. \n"It's been really cool to see so many people in the community working to see one child succeed," Smith said. "It's remarkable."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Christine Lunde at clunde@indiana.edu