Big Sister Finds Roots, Love and Major Award

The story of 29-year-old Yvette Herrera and a 12-year-old named Jessica began six years ago, shortly after the youngster left a Glendale women’s shelter with her mother and older sister.

Today their relationship takes them to the White House, where Herrera, of Burbank, will be honored by President Clinton as the 1993 National Big Sister by the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America.

When they met, Herrera was a recent college graduate, new to the area, looking for a way to establish roots in the community.

Jessica was a 6-year-old growing up without a father.

Both Herrera and Jessica’s mother, Mary, turned to Big Sisters of Los Angeles for help.

“The best thing that’s ever happened to us was finding Big Sisters,” said Mary, whose other daughter is also matched with a big sister. There are about 100,000 Big Brothers and Big Sisters in the national program.

Herrera, a senior planner with United Way in Van Nuys, was chosen from a field of about 1,000 nominees, who, according to Big Sisters community outreach coordinator Cynthia Endo, best exemplify the organization’s mission of matching young girls from troubled backgrounds with adult women “in hopes of making their lives a little better.”

There’s little doubt that Herrera helped enrich Jessica’s life.

“I think that’s the coolest thing,” Jessica said of the White House visit as she prepared to accompany Herrera on the trip to Washington. “The farthest I’ve been is Arizona. I’ve never been anywhere this exciting or gotten to meet anyone this big.”

For now, Jessica’s focus is understandably on the President, but the three to five hours a week she’s spent with Herrera have played an even bigger role in bringing hope into her life. The trips to the park, the hours spent crafting handmade gifts for their family members, the countless conversations and even the quiet time spent just hanging out have left an indelible mark on the youngster.

“She’s always there for me,” Jessica said. “I could always go to her and tell her what’s on my mind.”

Herrera remembers how the sixth-grader, worried about making the jump from grade school to junior high, asked her what she should do if she’s pressured to join a gang.

“She’s asking, ‘How did you stay out of gangs?’ ” Herrera said. “She’s worried about fitting in.”

Her advice to Jessica: “Stick out on purpose, set yourself apart and don’t allow yourself to be stereotyped into one group or clique.”

In choosing friends, or even choosing clothes, Herrera tries to get her little sister to be comfortable as an individual.

It seems to be working.

“Me and Yvette love the way each other dress,” Jessica says. “I like her style so she takes me shopping when my mom gives me money for clothes.”

Another thing the two share is their Filipino heritage.

Herrera’s parents both came to the U. S. from the Philippines in the 1960s.

Jessica’s mother is Anglo, but the father she never knew is Filipino.

Herrera has helped her little sister learn more about Filipino culture-- the two cook Filipino foods and converse in Tagalog, the Filipino national language, but she also gives Jessica key sisterly advice about growing up in America.

Herrera says getting involved with Big Sisters was a conscious decision that she made after graduating from Scripps College, a women-only school in Claremont.

Herrera’s impulse to volunteer, passed on from parents who worked with immigrant and refugee children, first surfaced when she was in junior high school and worked as a counselor for the parks and recreation department.

It doesn’t look as if Jessica will drop the baton, either. She looks forward to one day being a big sister herself.

“That would be cool,” she giggled.