The growth and increase in participation of a local non profit is due in part to the adolescent students of DeWitt County.

Big Brothers Big Sisters reports almost a doubling of the volunteers thanks in their organization, mainly in their school based program. Brie Weaver with Big Brothers Big Sisters says this is in large part due to the increased participation of high school students in the three main schools of the DeWitt County.

"Bigs", as they're referred to in the organization, are not discouraged from contacting a student's teacher to find out if their "little" needs academic help, but Weaver indicates sometimes just the "bigs" presence helps to keep a student in class and engaged.

Weaver explains they are most established in the Clinton Schools but now that they are in the Blue Ridge school district, their school based matches continue to rise.

Weaver says they ask the students to commit to a year of volunteering. She indicates they usually look towards to freshman and sophomore students.

For students that would like to get involved, there is someone in each district's building that takes care of coordinating volunteers. Weaver encourages students in each district to talk with the principals to get more information.