Big Brothers Big Sisters
How to Get Involved:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern NL enables life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. It provides direct service to children by matching volunteers and youths in quality mentoring relationships. Our agency staff members are experts at screening volunteers and matching them with a mentee having similar interests. Each year over 350 dedicated volunteers provide over 24,000 volunteer hours to more than 450 young people in our community. We provide 1:1 and group mentoring opportunities.
Mentoring is an intensive volunteer experience, it requires a commitment and a strong sense of empathy and acceptance. When volunteers begin with the correct mindset, they almost always reveal that the experience has been mutually beneficial for both themselves and their mentees.
Location: 430 Topsail Road (2nd floor Village Shopping Centre)
Contact: info@helpingkids.ca
Phone Number: (709) 368-5437
Website: www.helpingkids.ca
Volunteer Activities/Duties: We enrol 1:1 mentors in our school-based and community-based programs, and group mentors in our school based healthy living group mentoring. The exact role of the mentor will vary depending on the program they select to become involved with. Ultimately it's about being a supportive, non-judgmental friend and mentor, someone that can help a young person embrace their true selves and model responsible behavior, challenge them appropriately, support and guide them while having fun.
Commitment: For our community-based mentors, we ask for a minimum 1 year commitment, for In-School Mentoring, we ask for a school-year commitment if possible (Oct - June) and for group, programs are short, (7-8 weeks) so we ask mentors to do at least 2 programs each year.
Orientation and Training: Both trainings are mandatory, one is our standard pre-match training program "Strong from the Start" which covers all the basics volunteers need to know before they begin a match with a young person, the other is "Developmental Relationships" training, which focuses specifically on the 5 elements of the Developmental Relationship Framework, as designed by The Search Institute and adapted for BBBS.
Other Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, reside in the metro area and be able to commit to required length of time for the program they are applying to. Code of Conduct is required. Transportation is definitely an asset.