Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates Halloween in Bloomington

Shiny devil horns poked out from 11-year-old Kimmy Spencer’s curly red hair.
Her mentor, senior Doni Tavel, was dressed as a cop.

Tavel and Spencer were paired as “Big” and “Little” almost two years ago through Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana.

They have been spending time together at least once a week ever since.

“We go to the mall (and) the YMCA. We go swimming,” Spencer said, adding swimming is one of her favorite things to do with her Big.

“I’ll go visit her at school and eat lunch together,” Tavel said. “She comes over to my house for dinner. We watch movies. We’ve done homework together. We took a trip to Indianapolis and went to the zoo last summer. We’ve just been having a blast. It’s a really cool opportunity to be a Big.”

About 150 IU students paired with Big Brothers Big Sisters on Friday to organize the sixth annual Family Fall Festival and Haunted House.

The celebration, which closed down North Summitt Street in front of the Crestmont Boys and Girls Club, gave children of the community a safe Halloween celebration.

“Many of the families here don’t own cars, don’t have money for a costume, don’t have the ability to go out into another community to trick-or-treat,” said Celeste McGregor, a Big Brothers Big Sisters match support specialist.

“So this is their big Halloween party, and what’s really cool about it is IU students and groups come together to make it happen for us,” she said.

Crestmont, located about three miles west of campus, is a planned, low-income, subsidized-housing community, McGregor said.

The program planning was spearheaded by a School of Public and Environmental Affairs class, V362 “Nonprofit Management and Leadership,” which is taught by Al Lyons.

The class, a group of 11 students, was responsible for all the details, from rallying volunteers to figuring out the festival’s layout.

“We wanted to make sure that Big Brothers Big Sisters didn’t have to worry about too much, and that this is a project that we were taking on 100 percent and that they didn’t have to worry about anything,” said senior Kenzie Klinger, a member of Lyons’ class. “And it’s been a lot of fun.”

Seventeen greek organizations, community organizations and student-run organizations also contributed  to the Fall Fest.

Children dressed as Egyptian princesses, fairies and cowboys enjoyed an evening of fall-themed festival booths, each run by an IU organization, that ranged from face painting to a pumpkin toss to the highlight of the event: the haunted house.

Students from Civic Leadership Development and other student organizations began arriving at 10 a.m. Friday to transform the two-story Boys and Girls Club into a spooky
attraction.

Local vendors donated plastic trash bags and other materials for the haunted house.
“We’re just so thankful to have Indiana University here,” said Mark Voland, Big Brothers Big Sisters director of community programs.    

A mask was pulled over his forehead from working the haunted house with several CLD members.

“We have close to 300 matches in the program, and at least half are IU students,” Voland said. “And then you get something like this. There’s well over 100 volunteers for IU here, so it’s neat to see that involvement.”

McGregor, who wore a tree costume for the occasion, said she agreed.

“I want them lifted up. I really do,” she said. “They bring so much joy to this community.”

IU students will again pair up with Big Brothers Big Sisters for Bowl for Kids’ Sake in February.

For more information or to find out how to get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit bbbssci.org.