By Roger White

Urgent need for Big Brothers in the Battlefords

Nov 9, 2017 | 11:00 AM

It’s been an interesting month for the Battlefords Branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) with the organization experiencing both positives and negatives when it comes to mentorship.

The good news is by the end of November all the little sisters who applied for mentors will be matched, which program coordinator Renee Sperling said she is excited about.

“It’s certainly a nice feeling to have all the little sisters matched,” she said. “Normally we have always had more big sisters coming in but over the last few months it seemed like every application that came in was for a little sister.”

Unfortunately, the number of applications to become a big brother stalled.

“We have not had a single big brother application come in in weeks,” Sperling added. “I have had some men ask questions and they seem really interested in the program but that’s as far as it goes.”

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Sperling noted that the issue with the lack of big brothers is not just in the Battlefords area but across Canada as well.

“The last statistics we have from our national office was that 4,000 kids are waiting to be matched across Canada and again the largest need is male mentors,” Sperling said.

There are currently 13 young boys between the ages of five to 15 waiting to be matched with a big brother and the list grows every month.

“The hard thing is that many of our male youth have been waiting for up to two years for a big brother,” she said. “The need is definitely real in our area.”

Sperling said there is a young boy who was the first client she dealt with after joining Big Brothers Big Sisters two years ago who is still waiting for a match.

“Every time he sees me he asks ‘have I been picked yet? It’s hard for them to understand that it is not that they haven’t been picked it’s just we need the volunteers to step up and fill that role,” she said.

Statistics from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada show youth mentored through BBBS programming are 17 per cent more likely to be gainfully employed as adults and earn 13 per cent more on average in those jobs.

 Sperling said with those statistics it is easy to see how the difference a mentor can bring to a child’s life.

“I think the main thing we need to get across to people is that if you have an interest in something maybe hockey or music we will try to match you with a little brother that has the same interest as you,” she said.

To find out more on how you can make a difference in a child’s life by being a Big Brother or Big Sister in the Battlefords area click here.

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: RJWtheReporter