Big Brothers Big Sisters recognized the nonprofit's volunteers who are in uniform with a pinning ceremony Thursday.
The catch, though, is that their “littles” pinned them, thanking the officers for their time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia started the Bigs with Badges program in 2017 and the children can't wait to see their mentor walk through the door.
“If you ever have the chance to come to the Oliver Hill house right about 4:45, they start to glue their faces to the windows and wait until their ‘bigs’ show up. Today, when they got to pin their ‘big’ and say thank you, it's not something these officers get a lot,” said Josh Thoemke, director of development.
Thoemke says the uniformed volunteers spend time with the "littles" in their spare time after protecting the community.