Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Big Couples can take on big loads pairing up with and mentoring youngsters through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the 7 Rivers Region.

So Greg Voss, the executive director of the La Crosse-based agency, asked the Three Wishes campaign for $1,000 to buy 50 to 75 totes for the “Bigs” to carry supplies to and from their appointments with their “Littles.”

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the La Crosse Tribune are sponsoring Three Wishes to fulfill the wishes of three individuals or groups for Christmas.

Big Brothers Big Sisters also needs board games for ages 7 to 12, calculators, flash cards for math and English, stationery and similar supplies, Voss said.

“We need things that can support one-on-one interaction in tutoring and activities where we can stretch their brains,” said Lyndsey Langer, match coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The program has 117 Big-Little matches in La Crosse, including 79 in the community and 38 at school-based sites, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Ho-Chunk Nation Youth and Learning Center, Langer said.

The Bigs often take the Littles to educational sites such as the Children’s Museum of La Crosse and the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge, as well as activities such as plays, sporting events, movies and other entertainment.

At schools, the Bigs typically meet the Littles to read, work with computers, do homework or just socialize, Langer said.

If they had totes, they could take tutoring supplies and board games to their charges, she said.

“So many kids in school are sharing that they don’t have something to call their own,” Langer said. “It would enhance the relationships of the matches and provide an educational piece.”

The Bigs and Littles do bond, as evidenced by a couple of matches who met at Emerson Elementary School Thursday afternoon.

“I really like the impact it has on me and (Little Sister) Adyssie,” said Emma Nickoley, an 18-year-old elementary education major at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. “When I’m feeling stressed, being with her relaxes me.”

When Nickoley mentioned that she would be going home in Algonquin, Ill., soon for the holidays, Adyssie said plaintively, “Are you coming back?”

Nickoley assured her that she will, to which Adyssie replied, “Yay!”

Emily Wilhelm of La Crosse, a 19-year-old radiation therapy major at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said she volunteers because she has a big sister in real life.

“I wanted to make somebody feel as special as my sister makes me feel,” Wilhelm said.

Her Little, 9-year-old Cait, said that is the case, adding, “I like having a Big Sister because I was disappointed I didn’t have a big sister.

“I’m technically my own big sister because I’ve got a little sister,” she said with perfect childlike logic.

“Kids need so much support today, and we provide the positive role model and connect them with a caring adult,” Voss said. “The support has an impact. All kids today are at risk — in suburbia or poor. Peer pressure and bullying transcend all of that.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the 7 Rivers Region also has offices in Trempealeau and Vernon counties in Wisconsin and Winona County in Minnesota, serving a total of about 540 children.