Community-Based Mentoring
The community-based program is what most people think of when they think of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
This program offers the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters friendship. That’s why we refer to it as the Traditional Mentoring Program. In this program we create one-to-one relationships between a “Big” (an adult mentor 18+) and a “Little” (a young person between the ages of 6 and 16). Spending time together out in the community is primarily how the Big and Little develop their relationship. After all, to change a child’s perspective of the world, it helps to spend some time out in it!
The Traditional Mentoring Program provides a child with individual time and attention.
The Big and Little (The “Match”) share time together engaging in fun, recreational, and leisure activities within the community. Activities are chosen together by the Match and can be simple... walking through the woods, sledding, cooking a meal together, listening to music, or just hanging out. Outings filled with conversations and shared activities foster a relationship that helps youth manage the everyday challenges that are part of growing up.
Our Littles need you now more than ever… we need volunteers! Stand with us to keep kids connected, empower potential and build brighter futures.
Big Brothers Big Sisters offers some variations within the Traditional Mentoring Program.
- If you and your significant other would like to share some time together with a child, you may be ideal for a Couples Match.
- Or you can become a Big Duo where we match two people – siblings, longtime friends, or co-workers, etc.
- If you have older children and wish to include them, you can participate in a Family Match.
These options offer an enriching experience providing guidance and friendship to help build a child’s strengths as part of a mentoring team. The Little benefits from sharing friendships with multiple mentors offering combined skills and unique personalities. The mentors work together to direct efforts and support each other. And, the mentors have built-in flexibility – hang out with your Little together, of if one person is particularly busy one week, spend time individually.
Virtual Mentoring is a new option available to matches in our Traditional Mentoring Program.
Mentoring can happen in many different ways - meeting virtually, doesn't stop Bigs and Littles from building strong, positive relationships. As an alternative to meeting in person during COVID-19, our Matches found creative ways to have fun and stay connected and as a result the virtual mentoring option was developed. Matches in Virtual Mentoring meet through a variety of remote and online platforms and/or a hybrid combination of remote and in-person.
The Traditional Mentoring Program is available throughout the Copper Country and on a case-by-case basis in Baraga County and the Gogebic Range.