Who are our Volunteers
Kind, caring people over the age of 18 from all walks of life
People who want to have a little fun with a youth
A friend to a young person
Mentors are not:
Youth workers
Substitutes for parents or teachers
Providers of basic necessities like food and money
Your Role & Our Role
Your Role as a Mentor:- Build a special friendship with a young person and have fun together
Take the lead in 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
Volunteers pick up and return their young person, so access to a vehicle with ($1 million liability) is necessary
Keep in touch with your Mentoring Coordinator and ask questions you might have.
We also enjoy hearing about the fun you've been having.
Our Role:
- Be there for you
- Assign a Mentoring Coordinator to you
- Do our best to match you with a young person who shares your interests, location and schedule
- Your Mentoring Coordinator will keep in touch with you through phone calls and visits according to our follow-up schedule
- Send you a quarterly newsletter
- Help make your match successful
- Cheer you on and help you out if you need it!
- Send you information on community opportunities to share with your young person
- Benefits of Mentoring
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. Youth matched with mentors are:
52% less likely to skip school.
80% more likely to finish high school
46% less likely to use drugs
27% less likely to use alcohol
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
People who volunteer tend to be:
- Happy, healthy, fulfilled
- Conscientious, productive
- Stress-free with a positive outlook on life
We match a Big Brother with a Little Brother taking care to ensure they have similar interests. Matches spend one-to-one time together doing things that friends do… like talking, playing ball in the park, watching a movie or just hanging out. You don’t have to change your life to become a Big Brother… having a Little Brother just means you have someone else to share your life.
CAMERA SHY????? Can you guess who they are? BB "C" and LB "T".
At this time, we have 16 Little Brothers matched with a Big Brother, Couple for Kids or Cross Gender Match. Unfortunately, we have 10 boys waiting for a match with their special friend - some of them having waited for 2 years!Big Brothers in BBBS of Hanover & District are:
Blaine Cressman(Owen Sound) & Ryley (Hanover)
Ted Filsinger (Hanover) & Marc (Durham)
Ken Heidmiller (Mildmay) & Justin (Hanover)
Clare Schwan (Carlsrue) & Tristan (Hanover)
Jason Minke (Hanover) & Kyle (Durham)
Chris Hoffarth (Neustadt) & Austin (Hanover)
Shane Wells (Cargill) & Brendan (Durham)
Liam Stimpson (Neustadt) & Craig (Hanover)
Adam Shearer (Hanover) & Quinton (Hanover)
Mat Johnson (Durham) & Tyson (Durham)
Murray Gingrich (Durham) & Austin (Durham)
Ron Piche (Durham) & Danniel (Walkerton)
Andrew Dennie (Walkerton) & Kiefer (Ayton)
John Legassicke (Hanover) & Branden (Durham)
Talbot Biermans (Dobinton) & Dustin (Hanover)
It's easy to get involved.