Local youth mentoring organization looking for volunteers

Aug 15, 2018 | 5:52 PM

For youth in the Battlefords and surrounding area, the Big Brothers Big Sisters program offers them the chance to grow and experience life with a mentor they can rely on.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters matches youth in our community with other people who are interested in mentoring them,” Renee Sperling, Program Coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Battlefords, told battlefordsNOW. “So really, it is just hanging out and having fun here in the Battlefords, taking in everything the community has to offer.”

The program is open to young people of many ages, from children to older youth.

“We start as young as five and they can be matched until they’re 18 as long as we match them by the time they are 15,” Sperling said. “So they can spend quite a while with a mentor, for sure, a big brother or big sister.”

The number of volunteers in the community seems to be on the rise from even one year ago, but the Big Brothers Big Sisters Club is always looking for more mentors to help, as there are still many youths on the waiting list.

“We have 14 matches right now, which is a huge increase for us,” Sperling said. “We are usually hovering around the five-to-six [age] range so [this year’s total] is a big deal here in the Battlefords. The community has stepped up and we still have 13 on the waitlist that we are still looking to match, so we have quite a few families that are connected to us.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a non-profit organization that was established in 1912. With locations in over 1,100 communities all across Canada, the organization has had an impact on over 40,000 youth this year alone.

 

martin.martinson@jpbg.ca

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