About Mentoring
What is a Mentor?
Your role, our role
Benefits of Mentoring
Fun Stuff
Think back to when you were a child. Was there someone, other than your parents - maybe a neighbour, a family friend, an aunt or uncle, a coach - who shared time with you and made you feel special?
When you become a mentor, you can do the same for a child, youth or parent.
It's simple. It's about sharing time: play catch, read a book or watch movies and make popcorn.
Through our enrollment process, we get to know you so we can find the best match for you.
Our matches are based on common interests and time considerations.
Your caseworker will be here to cheer you on and help you out if you need it.
So you're going to have all this fun, but you might be wondering if it's going to cost you anything. It varies by program, but we encourage free and low-cost activities like going for a walk or bike ride, or baking cookies. But if there is a cost involved, it should be shared between the volunteer and the family.
Who are our volunteers?
- Kind, caring people from all walks of life.
- People who want to have a little fun with a child, youth or parent.
- A big friend to a little person.
Mentors are not:
- Substitutes for parents or teachers.
- Providers of basic necessities like food and money.
Your Role as a Mentor
- Build a special friendship with a young person and have fun together.
- Take the lead on establishing the friendship.
- Talk, listen, support, guide, encourage - believe in them and help them believe in themselves.
- Keep others informed about what you're doing. In most of our programs, you communicate directly with the families involved and our staff. In-School Mentors communicate with staff at the school and at our agency.
- Bigs pick up and return home their Littles, so a vehicle's an asset but not necessary.
- We ask TEAM volunteers with access to a vehicle to pick up and return home 2 of the kids on your TEAM. If you don't have access to a vehicle, that doesn't mean you can't be part of the TEAM.
- Keep in touch with your caseworker and ask questions you might have. We also really like hearing about the fun you've been having.
Our Role
- Be there for you.
- Assign a caseworker to you.
- Do our best to match you with a young person who shares your interests and schedule.
- Depending on the program you choose, your caseworker will keep in touch with you through phone calls and visits according to our follow-up schedule.
- Send you 4 newsletters a year full of information and fun stuff to do.
- Help make your match successful.
- Cheer you on and help you out if you need it!
No matter which program you choose, we'll be here for you!
Being a mentor is about having fun. It's about sharing time and exploring the world together. A mentor provides inspiration, acceptance, challenge, a sympathetic ear and exposure to new ideas and activities. It's about sharing little moments to create big magic!
Having a mentor makes a big difference to a young person. Children matched with mentors are:
- 80% more likely to finish high school
- 46% less likely to use drugs
- 27% less likely to use alcohol
- 52% less likely to skip school.
As well, 78% of former "Littles" who came from a social assistance background don't rely on social assistance as adults.
Even sharing just 1 hour a week as an In-School Mentor has a huge impact on the student:
- 64% of students with an In-School Mentor developed more positive attitudes toward school
- 58% achieved higher grades in social studies, language and math
- 60% improved relationships with adults
- 56% improved relationships with peers.
Many organizations support our In-School Mentoring program by giving staff time off to make a difference in the life of a child. Mentoring benefits the child, the mentor and the mentor's employer.
Children matched with mentors show improved:
- Confidence, self-esteem and sense of hope
- Academic grades
- School attendance
- Interactions with peers, parents and teachers
- Social and communication skills.
They're more likely to finish high school and less likely to be involved in criminal activities.
People who volunteer tend to be:
- Happy, healthy, fulfilled
- Conscientious, productive
- Stress-free with a positive outlook on life.
The employer gains by:
- An enhanced image in the community
- Attracting future employees
- Contributing to the development of healthy children and a stronger community.
When an organization encourages its employees to volunteer, it:
- Creates pride in the organization
- Boosts morale
- Strengthens work teams
- Increases job satisfaction.
An unexpected benefit for some companies is that the mentors blossom and take on new job responsibilities and leadership roles - essentially mentoring their co-workers.
Everybody at Big Brothers Big Sisters is here to make sure your experience with our agency is fun and successful. Click here for our current calendar of events.
Here are some activities we organize:
- June picnic
- Christmas party
- Volunteer Recognition Night and Annual General Meeting
- Group outings, like canoeing, bowling, skiing, billiards, archery, and fishing. We make sure these activities are either no-cost or low-cost.
Other activities that you can take in are:
- We often get free tickets to Oilers games, movies, the Citadel Theatre, Trappers games, Klondike Days and other events around town, which we pass onto our volunteers and kids.
- There are lots of places around town that will give you 2 admissions for the price of 1. Your caseworker will tell you more about this.
- Our In-School Mentors are invited to school plays, concerts and mentor appreciation lunches.
Can we have an overnight visit?
Yes, after your 1 year anniversary and with approval from your caseworker. This doesn't apply to our In-School Mentors and Digital Heroes, where you only connect with your student at school.
How much is this going to cost me?
Being a Mentor is absolutely free - other than providing your enthusiasm and sharing a little time. In fact, you might come out ahead on the deal: we provide fun, no-cost/low-cost monthly activities and occasional free tickets to theatre, sports and cultural events. If you and your special buddy take part in activities that cost money, you pay your own way and the family covers the young person's expenses.