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In this section
Big Sisters

 

 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.  

                             Kaylaandfred

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

 

In this program, a Big Sister is matched with a Little Sister in a one-to-one friendship.  After the match is made, you get down to creating a true friendship that will benefit a child…but you’ll also be surprised about how the friendship will make you feel great too. 

                     Sydney and Marianne

 

    We have 17 Little Sisters in BBBS of Hanover & District.  Of these 17, 13 of them are matched, leaving 4 Little Sisters waiting for their special friend.  Here are our Big Sisters: 

Laurie Huck (Drayton)& Kayla (Hanover)
Linda Jean Marie (Durham)& Michaela (Durham)
Marianne Pope (Durham)& Sydney (Durham)
Barb Beitz (Mildmay) & Trisha (Mildmay)
Lynn Royle (RR3 Hanover) & Kendal (Hanover)
Cherie Borho (Formosa) & Lily (Walkerton)
Brenda McRae (Hanover) & Skye (Hanover)
Elaine Hooper-Narduzzi (Durham) & Brook (Hanover)
Cathy Fritz (Walkerton) & Tiffany (Hanover)

Laurie Weber (Walkerton) & Samantha (Walkerton)
Luanne Pyper (Walkerton) & Samantha (Hanover)
Laura McPhail (Durham) & Crystal (Hanover)
Lindsey Anderson (Hanover) & Sara (Hanover)

It's easy to get involved!

Call 519-364-1444