Lisa Thomas has seen Williamsburg from many angles: as a student, as a professional, and recently, through the eyes of a child.
Thomas just celebrated 25 years of service with Child Development Resources. To recognize her contributions, CDR’s employees made a gift of $330 in her honor to Big Brothers Big Sisters, where she is involved as a mentor.
Thomas is the deputy director and also the director of children’s services at CDR. She oversees the direct services the nonprofit organization provides to about 1,000 children a year.
A graduate of William & Mary, Thomas became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters soon after she started working in Williamsburg in 1984.
“I wanted to get to know the community in a little bit different way than being a student,” she said.
Since then, Thomas has acted as a mentor, or Big Sister, to two girls in the area. Her current Little Sister is a fifth-grader at Matthew Whaley Elementary.
Thomas had trouble picking just one favorite thing about being a Big Sister.
“I feel like I get as much or more out of it as my little sister does,” she said.
She meets with her Little Sister about once a week, and they participate in a mix of academic and fun activities. Last Friday they went on a ghost trail at York River State Park, which Thomas said was both “haunting and educational.”
Being a Big Sister gives Thomas the chance to experience everything the community has to offer through the eyes of a younger child, for whom most of the activities are new.
“It’s just a really unique perspective,” she said.
Thomas has become a part of her Little Sister’s family, but has also enjoyed having the girl included in her CDR work family as well. Attending many CDR events together, Thomas said her CDR coworkers have been very welcoming to her Little Sister.
Even with the close involvement, Thomas was surprised by her coworkers’ choice to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“When my coworkers decided to honor me with this donation, I was really touched by that,” she said.
Thomas explained coworkers usually give gifts to CDR in someone’s honor, so to turn to an outside organization was unexpected.
“They just know how special it is to me,” she said.
“Lisa is one of our longtime mentors,” said Ayanna King, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Virginia Peninsula, in a news release Oct. 21. “It is a testament to Lisa’s passion for youth that her co-workers recognized and honored her with this gift. We are thankful to have Lisa as a mentor and as a part of this community.”
Thomas hopes to stay with her current Little Sister for “as long as she’ll have me,” and plans to remain committed to Big Brothers Big Sisters well into the future.
