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"But after the first year, I realized it wasn't my cup of tea," she said. "But pho- tography is an important hobby of mine and I learned a lot as a result of that year at Loyalist." Fetterly switched to the developmental services worker program in the fall of 1998 and earned her diploma here two years later. During her Loyalist studies, Fetterly accepted a summer position as program co-ordinator with Big Brothers of Belleville. She continued with two placements in her final year at the college, juggling her stud- ies with planning activities for Little Brothers and boys on a waiting list. She also did some casework with the agency. Fetterly joined Big Brothers as a full- time senior caseworker in the summer of 2000. She was responsible for screening male volunteers, assessing families for eli- gibility requirements, providing activities, helping with fundraising and recruiting volunteers. She continued as the senior caseworker even after Big Brothers and Big Sisters became one agency a year ago. And earlier this month, the board of directors asked Fetterly to also assume the acting executive director's position for the foreseeable future. Fetterly succeeds Bill Downham, who left last fall as the agency's full-time execu- tive director because of financial con- straints. "It was an unfortunate situation, howev- er, financially we couldn't support the position any longer," she said. "I was delighted to be given the oppor- tunity of becoming the acting executive director. I have been with the agency for quite a while and I'm passionate about the work we do. And I look forward to helping the agency move forward." Fetterly said she has a wonderful staff and dedicated directors "and we truly care about the well-being of the children and families and volunteers with the agency." Big Brothers Big Sisters employs three part-time workers but Fetterly is the only full-time employee. The agency has 22 core matches with Big Brothers or Big Sisters while another 20 to 25 are waiting to be matched with adults. Thirty-five children are involved with the in-school mentoring while dozens more participate in regular activities sponsored by the organization. Fetterly's biggest concern lies with the decline in adult volunteers. "We're hoping in this next year to increase our recruitment and community awareness efforts in Belleville and outlying areas so that we can match all our kids on a waiting list. "We desperately need volunteers to make a real difference in a child's life." Contact Henry Bury at: newsroom@intelligencer.ca •*~*f