Big Brothers Big Sisters begins monthly donation pick-ups
Earlier this month, the Pahrump Valley Times highlighted the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Southern Nevada donation program, which aims to collect unwanted but still usable items from area households in order to boost its own mentorship programming, and not long afterward, the BBBS truck was here in town to make its very first Pahrump pick-up.
“The truck was here on Saturday, July 11 and made several pick-ups of gently used items of clothing from Pahrumpians! The driver told me they had about a dozen calls,” Pahrump Program and Community Outreach Manager Maya Khandpur detailed. “These items will, in turn, be sold at Savers stores in Las Vegas, where a large portion of the proceeds are donated back to BBBS Southern Nevada. This is so much easier than having to load bags into your car and taking them someplace else.
“The truck will be coming to Pahrump monthly and the next pick-up will be on August 22,” she added. “All you have to do to schedule a pick-up is call and on the scheduled pick-up date, put your bags marked ‘BBBS’ outside your front door. Easy peasy.”
The BBBS donation program accepts clothing, shoes, toys, linens, books and small household items. No large appliances, computers, furniture or televisions will be accepted. To schedule a free pick-up, visit DonateLasVegas.com or call 702-222-9000.
The BBBS truck wasn’t only in town on July 11 to pick up items, either. A total of 350 backpacks were also delivered that same morning, all destined to be given out to local students at the upcoming Back to School Fair.
“BBBS receives donations from places in Vegas and they packed all these up, put them in boxes and sent them here,” Khandpur enthused. “We’re really thankful that they passed that along to us!”
As to how the Pahrump BBBS program is progressing so far, Khandpur said it’s been slow but steady.
“It’s going well. It’s a slow process but we’re really grateful for the families who have continued engaging. I think we’ve gotten a really great group so far, because it does take a lot of time and effort on the part of the parents as well as the volunteers and the children. But we’ve been working really well together and it’s been awesome,” she remarked.
For those who may want to learn about the BBBS mission and ways to get involved, the organization will be holding a fun, informational event next month.
“We’ll be having it on August 8 during SPOT 160’s community event and it’s just so people can see what we do and hear a little bit more about what opportunities there are with us,” Khandpur explained. “We’re going to have free ice cream and tons of activities and goodies for the kids, it’s going to be fun. And that’s what I want this to be for the kids overall – I want our program to be joyful and fun for them while they are still learning important skills. I’m so passionate about preventative programs like this, that can really deter children from getting into trouble.”
The Pahrump BBBS event will take place Saturday, August 8 from 5 to 8 p.m. at SPOT 160, 1941 S. Highway 160.
For more information on the Pahrump BBBS, contact Khandpur at 775-298-5333 or MKhandpur@bbbsn.org
Additional information is also available at BBBSN.org
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
