'Little' Airmen for a day

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Victor J. Caputo
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
While climbing into a Humvee or watching military working dog demonstrations 53 "Littles" paired up with McConnell Airmen "Bigs" for the day.

The Sedgwick County chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters held the fifth annual Big for a Day event at McConnell with the help of the 349th Air Refueling Squadron.

The children who came experienced what it is like to be an Airman while participating in different activities, including touring a KC-135 Stratotanker, playing with rubber weapons and climbing on inflatable life rafts.

"We do this for the opportunity to bring kids out and experience something they've never seen before," said Mark Eby, BBBS Sedgwick County executive director. "We try to bring different kids every year show them what they can have if they stay in school, keep their nose clean and just do the right thing."

The two groups first went to a hangar to tour various static displays, such as a KC-135 Stratotanker and different emergency response vehicles. After running between the diverse setup, the groups moved to the Robert J. Dole Community Center for lunch and some fun activities.

One of the event's goals was to find possible matches for the children. Some of the Airmen already had a "Little" while others came looking for one.

"We want to have as many kids matched as possible, but we also want them to have unique experiences," said Eby. "A lot of them haven't been given the opportunity to do things like this and know about these things."

However, the event wasn't just for the children. Many Airmen were able to have a little sibling for the first time in their life.

"I've always wanted to see what it would be like to have a little brother," said Airman 1st Class Adrian Snelson, 384th Air Refueling Squadron in-flight refueling apprentice. "It's great to help the community too, since we're part of it."

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been working with McConnell for over 20 years and this is fifth consecutive year that McConnell has sponsored Big for a Day.

BBBS hopes to continue its relationship with McConnell for many years to come, said Eby.