On January 11, 2014, Krillan opened its studio doors to a group of excited and energetic pairs of kids and adults ready to learn all about the process of screen printing and experience it for themselves. The eager learners were members of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program of Central Minnesota, which is part of a nation-wide organization that makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 5 through 14, in an effort to “provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally-supported 1-to-1 relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.”

After a quick information session from Krillan employees, it was time to get to work. The Bigs and Littles each got to choose their own ink colors and make two shirts of their own – one using plastisol ink and the other using a water-based ink. They were then able to compare their masterpieces and see the differences between the two screen printing techniques. The entire day was an exciting and wonderful learning experience for everybody involved.

The idea for the company to host a day for the Bigs and Littles to come and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of screen printing was the idea of one of Krillan’s founders, Tron Swanson, who has been a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota since May of 2012. “I finally came to the decision that I needed to try to make an impact and be the positive role model that some of these children are missing,” he shared. Tron and his Little, a 16-year-old boy named Austin, have had the opportunity to get to know each other really well and do all sorts of activities together, from attending the Minnesota Renaissance Festival to building birdhouses to cheering on the Minnesota Wild hockey team at the Xcel Energy Center. “At times this is challenging when I question if I am really making a difference; I wish I could do more, faster, and then it becomes rewarding when I see little signs of the impact I have made,” Tron said.

If you have the desire to make a difference in the life of a child or have any questions, Tron, and the rest of us here at Krillan, highly encourage you to check out a Big Brothers Big Sisters program near you.