Charlottesville, VA – Having met their goal of serving just over 200 children in 2014, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge (BBBS) has expanded their mentoring program to make room for a new goal of serving 300 children this year. Results have shown that one-to-one mentoring is making a big difference to local children living in our community — and as that need for mentoring continues to grow, BBBS has hired additional staff members and for the first time in several years, youth enrollment is open and applications are ready to be reviewed and processed for children between the ages of six and 16 to help meet the increased demand to be in the program.
Along with this program expansion also comes the need for additional mentors. With just one to two hours a week and two mentoring programs to chose from, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes it easy to spend time with a child, or Little. As Dave Koehn, Voice of the Virginia Cavaliers and Big Brother of five years says, “It’s not exactly heavy lifting . . . we’re walking the dog, we’re playing video games, we’re throwing the football in the park.” Littles enjoy the activities that their Big is already doing; it’s really about the companionship and the opportunity to share a conversation and ask questions.
For more information on youth enrollment or being a mentor, please visit www.blueridgebigs.org or email Latara Salisbury at lsalisbury@blueridgebigs.org. BBBS is also available for group presentations if your office, organization or group of any size would like to learn more about being a Big. Please email Maia Bannan at mbannan@blueridgebigs.org for more information on group presentations.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge was founded in 1981, and has served more than 1000 children in Central Virginia. Its mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. Big Brothers Big Sisters’ model of long-term mentoring services has a proven track record of success, including rigorously documented results that show how both the individuals involved and local communities benefit from the transformative mentoring relationships. In 2014, 100% of the children enrolled in the BBBS program reported improved scholastic competence, 100% progressed to the next grade level on-time, and 94% reported a greater confidence to achieve their goals despite the barriers they face.
