Volunteering for Big Brothers/Big Sisters
One of the most well-known opportunities for a volunteer is with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This is a volunteer opportunity is a one on one mentoring program where children between the ages of 6 and 18 are paired with a mentor. The relationships between Big Brothers and Big Sisters and their volunteer mentors are managed by a BBBS professional. If you choose to volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America you will have a much needed positive influence on the life of a child.
There is an endless number of volunteer activities that you can volunteer to do with a child through the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. Think of all the things that you enjoyed doing as a child. Any of these can be an idea of something that you can volunteer to do with a child through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Some of the volunteer activities might include playing games, going for a walk, going to an arcade, or you can even just hang out together and talk about what is going on in each others lives.
There is not a significant time commitment that is involved with being a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters. You can volunteer as little or as much time as you want with your Big Brothers Big Sisters child. The Big Brothers Big Sisters group provides many different programs that fit with your schedule to volunteer no matter how busy you may or may not be.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters group works to make sure that you will be a good volunteer for a child in the program. The application process to become a volunteer will include the provision of two references, an in-person interview, and a background check. This process is done to make sure that only qualified people are selected to volunteer as a mentor the children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The process also helps to make sure that volunteer mentors and children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program are matched together according to preferences and personalities.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters organization has programs that fit the needs of both the children as the volunteer mentors. There are community programs where the volunteer mentor and the child get together on their own to create and build their relationship. Typically the meetings are once a week for an hour each time. The Big Brothers Big Sisters organization also has school-based programs where the volunteer mentors meet up with their mentees in the school. The meetings are still once a week. There are also mentoring programs especially for Hispanic children and children whose parents are incarcerated.
Even if you do not wish to volunteer as a mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, you can still contribute to the program financially. Only a small percentage of your donation is used for the administration of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The other 92.2% of your donation will be used for creating and supporting the volunteer/child matches that are made in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Even the smallest donation can make a big impact in the life of a Big Brothers Big Sisters child that would not otherwise have a positive influence.
