GIRARD — Six years ago, Boardman resident Rita Fercana became a mentor — also known as a “big” — within the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley, where she was paired with her 12-year-old “little,” Angolina Krshner of Youngstown.

This year, Fercana was the recipient of the Big Sister of the Year award.

She was presented the award at the annual Christmas and volunteer celebration Sunday at Girard High School. The event featured a catered meal, arts and crafts, games, and even a visit from Santa Claus for the children and their big brothers and sisters.

“I think I’ve made a big impact on Angolina’s life and her family’s. I’m not only involved with Angolina, but I do get involved with the family as well,” Fercana said.

“Each time she picks a week for an activity and then the next time I get her, I pick it. I see her every two weeks. So we’ve been roller skating, we’ve been bowling, we’ve gone to parks, we’ve gone to… the Indians games, we’ve gone to Browns games. She likes to go jump at, I think it’s Extreme Air (Trampoline Park in Niles),” Fercana said.

“So we each pick an event. We always go out to eat. You know she picks the activities just as much as I do.”

Angolina said, “She changed my life ’cause (without) her, I really wouldn’t be here … ’cause she’s been an inspiration for me and I have a great time with her.”

She said she enjoys when the two get their nails done together and is thankful for the new phone that Fercana bought her for Christmas.

Big Brothers Big Sisters creates one-on-one relationships with children and a mentor, with the goal of helping the children to realize their full potential. Fercana said she decided to become a big sister after a friend had a positive experience mentoring a child in the program.

Brian Higgins, 47, of McDonald, is program director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley and has been with the organization since 1996. Higgins said that he graduated with a social work degree from Youngstown State University and has been working for Big Brothers Big Sisters ever since.

“What we do here, for this event, we have Santa Claus come. Each kid in our program will receive some gifts. We have giving trees in the community and people have sponsored each one of our children so they get to go home with something. Santa Claus will drop those gifts off for them. We do a luncheon and then we also honor our Big Brother and Big Sister of the year,” Higgins said.

Lee Frey earned Big Brother of the Year but was unable to attend the party. However, his little brother had positive things to say about him.

“He’s very nice. He’s very kind and he’s supportive,” Mekhi Dawson, 14, said. “He’s just a really nice guy, and I’m really grateful to have him, like, with me. Like to give me something to do on the weekends and just like hang out. It’s really nice to have him.”

Sharlotte Dawson, Mekhi’s mother, said, “Well, my son has had a couple obstacles in his life that he’s had to overcome, made his self-esteem kind of low and, you know, didn’t feel really great about himself. Well, Lee has just been wonderful and instrumental into building him up again, making him realize that he’s a good person, and that he’s gonna do great things, very inspirational, very supportive, very loving, and I can’t imagine our lives without him. He’s awesome.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters has a rich history. In 1977, the organization officially became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, but has been doing work for more than 100 years throughout its formation. The organization currently operates in every state. The group that is in the area is based on North State Street in Girard and serves children in both Mahoning and Trumbull counties.