BIG, LITTLE SISTER MATCH-UP

Sherie Archer was excited about meeting her Big Sister Thursday morning but a little scared at the same time.

"I was nervous because I didn't know what she'd be like," said Sherie, 9.

As the day got closer, she got a little more nervous, said her parents, Debbie and Mike Lambert of Scott City, Mo.

But Sherie was welcomed to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program with a party and balloons. And she found that she had plenty in common with her Big Sister Laura Johnston. They both are left-handed and share a dislike for green peas.

Sherie was the first child to be matched through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, which kicked off in Cape Girardeau this fall.

"It was good to see Sherie already warming up to her Big Sister," said Alison Staggs, executive director of the local program. "She seems like someone that likes attention and affection."

Sherie first heard about Big Brothers Big Sisters at school, but her mother laid the application aside. After a conversation with Staggs and a better understanding of how the program works, Debbie Lambert enrolled her four children.

The boys, Marc Lambert, Jeff and Danny Archer, don't have Big Brother matches because there aren't enough men in the program yet, Staggs said.

Debbie Lambert saw the program as a good opportunity for her children.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentoring program for children, will begin a Big Futures program at Scott City Schools in the coming months that matches older, high school students with elementary-age children.

Contact Big Brothers Big Sisters at 339-0184.