Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona hosted its 4th Match Game Day on Saturday, November 4th, 2023. These Match Game Days are hosted by BBBS staff, and they allow our Bigs and Littles (matches) the opportunity to meet with and hang out with other matches at the BBBSAZ office. Big Brothers Big Sisters Staff happily welcomed 19 matches to the Match Game day which took place in the Thunderbird Charities event space. Where they were greeted at the check-in station and were given paperwork to complete, if any. During check-in, matches were also entered into a raffle to win some very great prizes. Towards the front of the room, there were a few tables set up for which matches chose a variety of different foods, including small sandwiches, chips, cookies, and fruit.
Throughout the Thunderbird Charities event space, there were several different board games on the tables for everyone to choose from, including Bingo, Hedbanz, and Chutes and Ladders. In the corner of the room, there was an arts and crafts station. At the Arts and Crafts station, there was a peel-and-stick owl magnet activity and two fall-themed coloring sheets, which included a pumpkin coloring sheet and an autumn memories coloring sheet. There were also several different colored crayons and markers to choose from at the Arts and Crafts station. Several matches enjoyed the creative corner of the Arts and Crafts station.
A variety of sporting equipment was utilized outdoors by matches in the Devin Booker Pavilion. Matches of all ages enjoyed shooting hoops in the basketball area; some threw around a football; others played table tennis; and some had a friendly competition playing cornhole while enjoying the great fall weather. Different playing tables were also available for matches to choose from. The 2-in-1 playing table consisted of an air hockey table or a pool table. Air hockey was the favorite table game amongst many matches. Not only were there different games to choose from at the tables, matches could also choose several more different games from the bookshelf, which not only had games but also books. Some of the games to choose from the bookshelf were Jenga and Mad Gab, and some of the books were Smurfs and Nickelodeon’s Pirate Pals.
At the VR station, some matches played video games to escape reality for a little bit. Littles played at the VR station while Bigs cheered them on. The Match Game Day event closed with each Little being given a goodie bag. Both Bigs and Littles left with smiles on their faces.
There was an intense but fun game of Headbanz with a couple of matches and their program specialists. There was such great sportsmanship between everyone! It was cool to see how everyone’s brain worked a little differently with how they interpreted the clues and yes-or-no answers.
A match also played the game of Life. They realized the version BBBS had was from the 1980s.
-BBBS Staff