Student Contributor -V. McGregor
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is centered around one-on-one mentoring relationships between adults and children. Mentors are intended to participate in a variety of activities with children such as playing sports, hiking, reading books, or just spending time together. There are school-based programs where the child and the mentor meet in school, inside or outside the classroom. Big Brothers Big Sisters also runs five special mentoring programs for specific demographics: African-American Mentoring, Hispanic Mentoring, Native American Mentoring.
Compared to other charities in this area, Big Brothers Big Sisters has a moderately large body of thorough research behind its programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters has a running record of children’s academic achievement and what having a mentor does for the kids posted on their website for anyone to see at any time. Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that with every child there is amazing potential. As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 5 through young adulthood in communities across the country. They nurture positive relationships that have a honest and enduring effect on the lives of young people.
• Volunteer- You can help shape a child’s future for the better by empowering them to achieve
• Donations- have your class do a fundraiser to raise money
• Start a workplace mentoring program- Workplace mentoring programs allow students to visit real workplaces and learn from one-to-one relationships with successful professionals.
