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ENROLL A CHILD

ENROLL A CHILD

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COMMUNITY-BASED MENTORING

When it comes to the future of your children and the well-being of our communities, we’re all in this together. Mentoring is way to support their healthy development and success in life. With over 39 years of experience, we are dedicated to being an organization you can trust.

Currently, we enroll children between the ages of 8-14 in the Monroe, Ontario, Yates, Wayne and Livingston counties. The agency provides children a strong, enduring and professionally supported one to one mentoring relationship. Many of the mentoring relationships between the Bigs and Littles fall under our Community-Based programs.
HELP YOUR CHILD SUCCEED
In the Community-Based program, your child is matched with a mentor according to shared interests, hobbies, personality, and geography. Once matched, the volunteer picks up your child at his or her home.

Bigs and Littles plan their own outings filled with things they enjoy doing, like sports, going to the beach or listening to music and they meet for a few hours once per week. Each match is unique and develops a schedule that works for them, some Bigs meet their Littles on the weekends, others in the evenings.
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TAKE A WALK
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GO TO A MUSEUM
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PLAY IN THE PARK
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RIDE BIKES
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HEAD TO THE ZOO
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ARTS & CRAFTS
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FRUIT PICKING
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VISIT AREA COLLEGES
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GO BOWLING
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HANG OUT & CHAT
Design Graphic SUPPORT YOUR CHILD
When it comes to the future of your child(ren) and the well-being of our communities, we are all in this together! Given this partnership, it should come as no surprise that we need the parents and guardians of Littles to be involved in the entire mentoring process. Along those lines, parents and guardians will be provided with respect, frequent check-ins, and inclusion in every aspect of the match relationship.

During the application process, you will be asked to provide information about your child’s strengths and needs. In addition, you will be asked to approve the selection of the Big Brother or Big Sister for your Little. Once matched, you will remain closely involved in many ways, including:
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Approving activities and outings for your child and their Big.
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Reporting your child’s progress and milestones to the agency on a regular basis (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester will contact you, but we welcome your feedback any time).
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Asking your child questions about those outings, and sharing what you learn with the agency staff.

YOU WILL FEEL THE IMPACT AS MUCH AS YOUR CHILD.
Studies find that children matched with a Big are more confident and more likely to avoid use of drugs and alcohol. They are also more likely to improve academically and get along better with their peers and family.

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BIG IMPACT WITH PROVEN RESULTS
We have always known we were making a positive impact on children and empowering them to succeed. A nationwide study confirmed it for us.

Public/Private Ventures, an independent Philadelphia-based national research organization, looked at over 950 boys and girls from eight Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country selected for their large size and geographic diversity. This study, conducted in 1994 and 1995, is widely considered to be foundational to the mentoring field in general and to Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based program in particular.

Approximately half of the children were randomly chosen to be matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister. The others were assigned to a waiting list. The matched children met with their Big Brothers or Big Sisters about three times a month for an average of one year. Researchers surveyed both the matched and unmatched children, and their parents on two occasions: when they first applied for a Big Brother or Big Sister, and again 18 months later.
THE RESULTS?
46%
less likely to begin using illegal drugs
27%
less likely to begin using alcohol
52%
less likely to skip school
37%
less likely to skip a class
33%
less likely to hit someone
BBBS HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON KIDS

“We have known all along that Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mentoring has a long-lasting, positive effect on children’s confidence, grades, and social skills,” affirms Karen J. Mathis, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s President and CEO, “and the results of this impact study scientifically confirm that belief.”
OUR PROGRAM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

“These dramatic findings are very good news, particularly at a time when many people contend that ‘nothing works’ in reaching teenagers,” said Gary Walker, then-President of Public/Private Ventures. “This program suggests a strategy the country can build on to make a difference, especially for youth in single-parent families.”
THE BIG IMPACT
According to the study, Big Brothers Big Sisters programs were found to “focus less on specific problems after they occur, and more on meeting youths’ most basic developmental needs.” The matches that were observed shared everyday activities: eating out, playing sports or attending sports events, going to movies, sightseeing, and just hanging out together. But what mattered to the children were not the activities. It was the fact that they had a caring adult in their lives.

Because they had someone to confide in and to look up to, they were, in turn, doing better in school and at home. And at a time in their lives when even small choices can change the course of their future, the Littles were also avoiding violence and substance abuse.

In addition to the lives of Littles being changed for the better, the impact is contagious.

"When Little Brothers and Little Sisters feel good about themselves," said Mathis, "they can positively impact their friends and families, their schools, and their communities. And as this important study has shown, these young people believe in themselves because a Big Brother or Big Sister believed in them.”

CHILD SAFETY