A helping hand
Giving back to community a common theme of big brothers big sisters

"Big sister" Leigh Tutterrow and "little sister" Raqueal Manuelito rest after taking Tutterrow's dogs for a walk Wednesday at We The People Park in Gallup. Tutterrow and Manuelito were one of the first matches through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program since it came back to the area last August. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

Adults who join the Big Brothers Big Sisters programs in Gallup and Grants have a sense of wanting to give something back to their communities.

Racqueal Manuelito has a Big Sister in Gallup, but not in the conventional manner. Manuelito and Leigh Tutterrow, an occupational therapist in Gallup and Fort Wingate schools, are part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and they are together purely by accident.

Lenore Manuelito wanted something more for her three children, Racqueal, 12; Raylene, 9; and Itacian, 7. Their mother wanted to find out about the Boys and Girls Club of America but said she became slightly confused and went to the Big Brothers Big Sisters offices by mistake.

“When I realized what I did, I said, ‘Well, tell me about your program,’” she said.

Racqueal and Tutterrow were matched in August 2008 and both say the pairing is one of the best things that have ever happened to them. Raylene and Itacian were matched as well. Raylene’s pairing didn’t work out, and a new Big Sister is being searched for. Itacian is still matched and it is working out well.

“I was afraid when I heard about what was going to happen, I didn’t know about hanging out with someone I didn’t know,” Racqueal said.

“But after I met Leigh and we got to know each other, I love having her as my big sister, I want to be with her the rest of my life,” she said.

Racqueal said she wants to be a police officer and then a judge, because both help people with their problems. She also wants to be a Big Sister when she becomes an adult.

Tutterrow, who is single and has no children, said she wanted to give something back — to mentor a young girl.

“I have been blessed with a good life and many of the girls here haven’t,” she said. “I love kids, I work with special needs students at the schools and when I decided I wanted to give something back to my community, that’s when I decided to become a Big Sister.

“This relationship with Racqueal has exceeded my expectations,” she said.

Tutterrow said in her spare time she makes kitchen cutting boards and sells them at Makeshift Gallery in Gallup, where she is a member of the local artisan’s co-op. She likes the Big Brothers Big Sisters program so well, she donated all the proceeds from this past holiday season, $320, to the program.

“I think I’m blessed with Racqueal, not all matches go this well,” she said.

Grants program under way

In Grants, eight pairings have been made through the program, which began late last fall and is centered in the Future Foundations Family Center.

Justin Thomas, 11, who has special needs, was matched with a Big Sister, Brittany Hunter.

Justin said people are mean to him often, and before Brittany arrived, he had no friends.

“I wanted a Big Brother and I wasn’t sure about a Big Sister,” he said. “It was the happiest day of my life when Brittany and I started meeting.” The match was tentative at first, but soon warmed up, and now the two are happy together.

Hunter said she felt a drive to give something back to the Grants community, where she has lived most of her life.

She is married and has two young children of her own, but has an hour a week to spend with Justin.

“When Dale told me about the program, I jumped at the chance,” she said. Dale Good is a friend of the family and is the Future Foundations Family Center Big Brothers Big Sisters program staffer that oversees all the matches.

“Justin has social problems, he feels he has to defend certain people at the center,” she said. “When I am there with him, he gets along better with others.”

Hunter said the two play basketball and kickball in the gym, allowing Justin to be able to socialize with other kids.

Justin said one of his favorite things to do with Brittany is to make paper airplanes together and see how they fly, especially the stealth airplane.

Jesse Akins is a stay at home dad. He and his wife have moved several times in the past 10 years, but when they arrived in Grants for her job as a respiratory therapist at Cibola General Hospital in June 2008, they decided to remain in Grants.

Akins said even though they have children, he feels that he can give an hour a week to a youth as part of the program.

He was matched in December with Roderick Vigil. Vigil’s mother did not return the Independent’s calls.

Both Big Brother and Big Sisters program in Gallup and Grants are seeking adults to be able to volunteer an hour a week with one of the youth in those communities.

Information: Gallup, (505) 728-8356; Grants, (505) 285-3542.
To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 285-4560 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.