All about Big Brothers and Big Sisters Programs

Researching for my articles helped me garner much knowledge from the Internet. I learnt much about Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs. Here are some details in a nutshell.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America was awarded three mentoring grants totalling approximately thirteen million dollars by the United States Justice Department, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) a few years back. Grants of this nature are awarded to leading national organizations in recognition of their works that strengthen, grow and implement mentoring activities and development programs for youth.

Having a history of over a hundred years, and hundreds of testimonies that show its mentoring program works in America, Big Brothers Big Sisters is indeed an organisation that has positively impacted the lives of Americans. Its mentoring programs of children and youth across all America show that there is hope even when parents are incarcerated, that children and youths will grow in the right direction when they are mentored by older brothers and sisters.

Big Brothers Big Sisters welcomes a workforce from diverse work experiences and ages because it believes that having people from diverse backgrounds work towards a common cause will bring about the best results. There is always somethng more that can be done for the disadvantaged children and youths.

How do the mentoring programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters work? Children and youths at risk (the Littles) are paired off with adults (the Biggies) as their mentors in the hope that these mentors will act as ideal role models in the absence of good parenting models. Instead of being substitute parents, these adults are referred to as big brothers and big sisters to foster closer ties that are void of the negative connotations these Littles have with their biological parents.

Biggies meet up with their Littles on a regular basis that can be monthly or weekly. Meaningful time is spent in the form of chatting over meals, visits to places of interest, or recreation. Through activities spent together, a relationship of trust is formed that allows Biggies to have a positive influence over their little siblings who may otherwise seek out the wrong company in their absence. Biggies soon become a good listening ear to their Littles, and mentor their activities.

Mentors are carefully selected through interviews with professional staff members in the town closest to their homes. If selected, they will be matched to a child or youth in need of a mentor, according to interests, availability and race. Because child safety is top priority, applicants as mentors will be subjected to a background check to ensure a good fit into the mentoring program. They will also provide two references that can attest to their abilities and suitability as mentors.

Once mentors pass the stringent checks, they are matched with a child in their area, according to gender and the kind of children they would like to mentor. Because the mentoring program depends largely on suitable matching, mentors may be assigned a Little in uncertain duration. It is important that mentors are matched to the correct charges or risk unnecessary stress and unhappiness over the mentoring experience. Moreover, unsuitable matching may result in unwanted problems.

Matches are in two kinds: school-based and community-based. School-based matches meet within the Little's school for an hour a week in the day, during which they share a variety of school-related activities such as reading in the school library, having lunch together, playing together or doing projects together. Community-based matches fit into the Big Brother or Sister's schedule and involve activities such as outings to sports events or places of interest, and even visits to their homes or meets with other matches.
Parents of children in need of a mentor must approve the selection of the match before mentoring begins. They are also involved in mentoring in various ways and work closely with staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters to ensure success in the mentoring process. The Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program can result in children becoming more confident of themselves, having better relationships with others and being successful in their studies, as well as staying clear of drug abuse and other criminal tendencies that their parents may have been involved in.

The success of the Mentoring Program at Big Brothers Big Sisters falls mainly on the best match, as well as careful monitoring and interaction between the guardians, the Littles, the Biggies and staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters. By keeping their charges gainfully occupied and being there for them, mentors pave the way to healthy lifestyles and interactions that will hopefully keep them off the wrong course of bad decisions and role-modelling. It is therefore vital that aspiring volunteer-mentors avail themselves to the stringent assessments, interviews and background checks.

At Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), being a mentor in one of its mentoring programs means being able to help another just by being yourself. You may be considering how to apply as a mentor. Being a mentor in the BBBS organization makes you more than someone who is professionally related to the child or youth that you will mentor. As the name of the organization implies, you will become a big brother or sister - a Big - to someone for an hour or more per week, depending on the number you can commit yourself to. As a big brother or sister, your impact will certainly be greater than that of a doctor or a psychiatrist.

You may also be wondering what being a mentor at Big Brothers Big Sisters will demand of you. Take heart that being a mentor in the BBBS program simply means that you are a big brother or big sister to a child, often referred to as your Little. You will be paired with a Little whose interests are similar to yours. This matching is done so that you and your Little wil have common topics to talk about, and by doing so, you will be able to build a bridge of friendship and trust with your Little. By doing so, it is also hoped that your Little will trust you enough to open up to you, and take your positive advice on negative issues in his life.

Now that you are convinced that you can make a difference to somebody's life in a small way, you can start by applying as a mentor by clicking on the Volunteer link at www.bbbs.org. You will see the words Volunteer to start something, with a field for you to type your zip code into, at the top right hand corner of the webpage.

If you still want to find out more, click on one of the four yellow links below that reads Be a Big Brother, Be a Big Sister, Real Life Stories, and Sign Up to Volunteer.
Once you have read and are convinced that mentoring as a Big is what you want to do, click on Sign up to Volunteer, enter your zip code and click the Submit icon. You will come to the link that depicts all the contact information that you need of the BBBS agency nearest your home. At the top left of the link, you will find the agency name, the address, the contact person's email address, the website address, as well as the telephone number. A few lines below the telephone number are fields that you would need to complete. The fields include your first and last names, your gender, date of birth, email address, phone and phone type. Once you have filled in the fields, click the Submit icon and your application as a mentor is on its way.

Once your existence has been verified, you will be contacted by a staff of your local BBBS agency who will inform you of their decision to accept your application as a mentor.

Once your application as a mentor online has been submitted, that is not the end of the application, however. If your application is considered, you will also have to undergo personal interviews, and background checks that include two references concerning your mentoring abilities. Because you are going to mentor little beings that have had more than their fair share of troubles in their families, their safety is top priority. Hence the stringent application processes.

If you do not make it as a mentor at BBBS but are still keen to contribute to the organization, you can do it in kind, with donations of cash or clothes, toys or games. You might also consider joining one of their fund-raising projects. You may want to volunteer your services or join the staff in a variety of positions related to fund-raising, program development and operations. BBBS is an organization that runs on donations and public funds. Its hundred years of service to society have garnered much support from the community, and have pointed the right way to many a wayward child or youth. Your consideration to apply as mentor or aide in any other way is indeed commendable. Whatever way you serve the BBBS organization, remember that young lives are being helped by your kind services.

What rewards are in for you? Being a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programs will probably not make you a millionnaire. Neither will you become a superstar overnight, or even one for a day. Indeed, the rewards of being a mentor is seldom extrinsic, and mainly intrinsic, if they do exist. A sure reward is the satisfaction of knowing that you have made a difference to somebody's life.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programs exist to brighten another person's life, and as that person's mentor, your rewards will centre around the improved well-being of that person. It is already a reward in itself if you have been selected as a mentor because you would have undergone background checks and interviews, as well as having two persons attest to your mentoring abilities.

As a big brother or big sister, often referred to as a Big, you are involved in one or both programs offered by the organization: school-based program or community-based program. In the school-based program, the Big goes to school and spends time with his Little at lunch, doing projects or homework together, playing or even just reading at the library. In a community-based program, the Big brings his Little to places of interest, games and movies, and any other social event that is appropriate. The key in either program is quality time together.

When his Little improves in relating to others or in his school work, a Big knows he has impacted his Little in a succinct manner during their quality time together. It is certainly rewarding to know that the quality time spent with someone has impacted that someone in a terrific manner, even if the improvement made is miniscule.

Spending time with someone from a disadvantaged background can be very trying and energy-sapping at times, especially when you have your own job and family to cope with. A Little whose parents are not able to be there for him most of the time will be a child or youth with insecurity in his life, often lacking in social skills, as well as lacking material comfort. A Big's love and attention can mean a whole lot to him and fill the gap left by his absent parents.

As a Big, you can be certain that your efforts will not gone to waste, as the Big Brother Big Sister organization will have staff that monitor the outcome of each match stringently so that positive results are ensured and nobody's time, especially the mentor's, is wasted.

Parents are involved in monitoring the changes that are evident in their children. This recognition of positive growth is important to the children because they yearn for the acceptance and love of their parents. To be recognized by the parents and the child that you have changed the child's life, is a reward that goes beyond a billion dollars.

In summary, the rewards of being a mentor with the Big Brother Big Sister program include knowing you have made a positive influence in someone's life, being recognized by your Little and his family members as being the one who has turned him around, and watching your Little turn into somebody who is confident, independent and  possibly  pass forward your involvement in his life to others.