Big Brothers Big Sisters is expanding two programs into Woolwich this fall with some help from the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival.
The festival committee doled out $51,000 in funds to community groups last week in honour of its 51st festival. Big Brother Big Sisters was one of said recipients and will use it to bring their in-school mentoring program to Woolwich. They will also be adding their Go Girls group mentoring program due to funds received from a Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation grant.
“It’s always been part of our strategic plan for our agency and in the past five years we’ve served 36 kids in Woolwich Township, so we really want to expand and as much as possible make sure any youth in Woolwich who needs a mentor has access to one,” Jessica Maindonald, fund development coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region said.
It’s not clear yet which schools will be participating, but she notes Breslau PS and Riverside PS have expressed interest. Until the new school year starts they’ll be focusing on volunteer recruitment in the township.
“We’ve had a few of the schools in Woolwich already approach us and say ‘hey, these are programs we need in our school.’ But without the volunteers in that community then we can’t match the child with a mentor. They basically sit on a wait list,” Maindonald said.
The in-school mentoring is for any student from Grade 1 to Grade 8 and the Go Girls program is for girls aged 12 to 14. Kids spend an hour each week with their mentor at their school for the in-school mentoring program.
“They are working on anything from some academics, maybe they’re a child who’s been flagged who just needs some extra one on one, to social development, maybe just hanging out reading a book, doing a craft, taking the basketball to the gym,” she explained.
The Go Girls program encourages healthy living and teaches girls how to maintain a balanced lifestyle. Some weeks they’ll cook together and others they’ll do hands-on activities based around health.
It’s all about matching a child to a positive adult role model and building a friendship with someone they can trust, talk to, and confide in.
Teachers and parents can recommend children for the programs, and they’ll be matched up with a mentor based on their needs.
“We have some partnerships with the local schools in Woolwich, and so they identify the children who would best benefit from our program,” Maindonald said. “Because of lack of funding and being able to do a volunteer recruitment campaign we haven’t been able to put a lot of focus in that area. But now with funding we’re going to be able to get out there to the community, partner with the schools, and put some marketing and advertising in place to recruit the volunteers that we need for the kids.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrated 50 years in the Waterloo region last year. Wellesley township is in the same boat as Elmira, where if there’s funding available Big Brothers Big Sisters will expand their programs into that area, too.
“I think a lot of times, not that they’re forgotten about, but it’s really easy to just focus on the city centres and they kind of get left behind a little bit. We do recognize that and we’re trying to do our best to reach out for funding to say there’s an absolute need here and we need to do something.”
She explains they’ve done surveys of past participants and the effects of participating in a mentorship program are strong. Of those surveyed, 80 per cent go on to pursue healthy lifestyles, while 92 per cent say they now feel confident. From the participants in the in-school mentoring program, 88 per cent report improved literacy skills.
“The results are there through the survey,” Maindonald said. “It’s pretty clear that having a mentor in your life is important.”
Anyone interested in becoming a mentor can apply at www.bbbswr.org.
