Member News

NEW YORK, NY & YORK, PA – NOVEMBER 19, 2024 – Antoine "AJ" Shoff and Siddhesh "Sidd" Pawar from Big Brothers Big Sisters of South-Central PA, have been selected to perform in the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® on Thursday, November 28. In celebration of a multi-year partnership, AJ and Sidd will join the Parade to the call of "Let’s Have a Parade," the iconic phrase that has signaled the start of every Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1924. 

"We are incredibly proud to have one of our matches singing in this year’s Parade," says Amy Rote, President & CEO of BBBS of South-Central PA. "This moment not only highlights the powerful bond they share, but also underscores the life-changing impact of mentorship for national audiences. We are looking forward to watching AJ and Sidd take part in this tradition alongside Bigs and Littles from across the US. We are deeply grateful to Macy’s for their national and local partnership and for providing this unique opportunity for our matches." 

As BBBS makes a return appearance in this year’s Parade, members from BBBS of South-Central PA will perform on Macy’s Winter Wonderland in Central Park float. For this year’s Parade, Macy’s invited 20 Bigs and Littles – selected from an extensive talent search – to join Macy’s colleagues and Sebastián Yatra as they take center stage and travel through New York City on Thanksgiving morning to spread joy and cheer to live spectators and viewers nationwide. 

In addition to the Parade, from November 1 through December 24, Macy’s will host a special in-store round up and online donation campaign to benefit BBBS’ mission of empowering young people through the power of mentorship to build paths for future success. Since 2022, Macy’s has raised nearly $10 million to support BBBS’ mission to empower youth and realize their full potential by providing impactful programming and life-changing mentorship opportunities. 

Since 1924, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. Growing in size and scale, the Parade features Macy’s signature giant character balloons, fabulous floats, incredible marching bands, celebrities, clowns, dance and performance groups, and the one and only Santa Claus, spreading holiday cheer. For more information on the Macy’s Parade, please visit www.macys.com/parade. 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South-Central PA creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. For over 40 years, BBBS of South-Central PA has kept its promise by expertly crafting and maintaining compatible mentoring matches between Littles (youth) and Bigs (mature volunteers) throughout the South-Central PA region. Our commitment includes using evidence-based best practices to achieve personalized outcomes and supporting matches throughout their life (one to ten years). Contributions in all forms are vital to fulfilling the agency’s mission. BBBS of South-Central PA is a 501(c)(3) charity, registered with the PA Bureau of Charities, and an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. For more information, visit the BBBS of South-Central PA website at capbigs.org. 

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