When people think of mentoring, they think of Big Brothers Big Sisters. That’s because for more than 100 years we’ve worked to develop a youth mentoring program that works. Our experienced approach to recruiting, screening, matching and supporting our mentoring relationships has resulted in thousands of lasting relationships, and helped change the lives of young people across the country.
CHILD QUALIFICATIONS
To qualify for enrollment, a child must be between the ages of 7-14, the child must want a Big, and the family must commit to staying in communication
MATCHING
Several factors are taken into consideration when deciding if a match will be compatible. A program specialist looks at proximity to each other, personalities, interests, and goals of both the child and the adult volunteer.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Once the Little and the Big have been matched, the support doesn’t stop there. A match support specialist will be in touch with the child, volunteer and guardian regularly to help identify problems, brainstorm solutions, and connect the family with essential services.
SCREENING & TRAINING
Child safety is Big Brothers Big Sisters’ highest priority. To that end, we run a multi-layered, multi-state background check on ALL volunteers including a sex offender registry check. We also run a general reference check on all volunteers AND reference checks on all youth serving organizations the volunteer has been a part of.