You may have heard - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hanover & District is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary this year. Some of our first events have even launched - including 40 - 40 - 40: Our Forty & Fabulous Volunteer Recruitment Campaign. Our goal was simple:
40 Volunteers Recruited in
40 Days to Honour our
40th Anniversary.
If I'd had any idea when we decided to replicate the Calgary agency campaign that Grey Bruce would respond so quickly, I would have asked for more volunteers! The campaign launched on February 1 and will close on Saturday, March 10. Today marked day 27 and the list of inquiries on my desk this morning showed 21. It is both humbling and truly gratifying.
Volunteers have come forward to be a part of childrens' lives and to help change them for the better. We have all kinds of dry stats I could share with you about increased self esteem, improved grades, better attendance, better attitudes, and decreased drug and alcohol use. But to know what it really means for the kids in our program to have a mentor, you just have to ask them. They'll tell you that their bigs are great friends, people they really enjoy spending time with, people they want to be. You can read all about it here.
What always amazes me is how the bigs are just as excited to be seeing their littles as the littles are about seeing their bigs. I hear all the time from bigs who can't help but tell us how amazing their littles and mentees are. They have a great time when they're out with them, they enjoy their visits, they enjoy recapturing their childhood and many have the joy of learning so many amazing things about themselves.
Volunteering with BBBS can fit into almost anyone's life. Just one hour per week in a local school to be an In School Mentor during school hours. Just one hour per week in the evenings means you can mentor in Go Girls or Game On. If you're kind enough to have 2-4 hours to share each week, we'd love to introduce you to our Big Brothers or Big Sisters or Couples for Kids programs. Not sure you've got what it takes? Check out Mentoring 101 and our self assessment checklist. If it sounds like you, give us a call at 519-364-1444 or email us or apply online.
As we move through our 40th Anniversary year, we've committed to writing at least 40 blogs (one each week until the end of the year - give or take a week or two of holidays) to honour the remarkable achievements, adventures, advancements and aspirations of everyone who has crossed over the threshold of the agency. It's a history rich in commitment, dedication, hard work and equal parts of fun, whimsy and excitement. I look forward to sharing some of that with you, and to sharing the space as we welcome guest bloggers.
I would ask that you'd take a moment to subscribe to our blog or to subscribe via email to get the blog direct to your inbox so you don't miss a moment of this incredible journey (feeds on top right, email below this post). We'll be sharing 40 years worth of photos, stories, news clippings and celebrations - I promise you won't want to miss a single minute!
Yours in Mentoring,
Chantal
